Wanli UFO Village: A Supernatural Day Trip from Taipei

Would you visit a possibly haunted, mysteriously abandoned, creepily eerie UFO village? If the answer is yes, keep on reading. If the answer is, “WTF is a UFO Village?” I also advise you to keep on reading. Located only an hour outside of Taipei in Tawain stands an abandoned neighborhood – the only catch? Looking at the homes, one could assume aliens were its’ residents.

Getting there:

Most people are going to visit the Wanli UFO Village from Taipei. Speaking from experience, take this route, and this route only. Regardless of where you are in the city, get yourself to an 1815 bus station.

One of the more popular stations is Taipei City Hall station. From here, board the 1815 bus headed towards Jinshan Youth Activity Center. If the next stop is Tanmei Park, you are heading in the right direction. Stay on this bus all the way until you reach Feicui Bay. This website does a great job of breaking down the 1815 bus route, schedule, and even provides a user friendly interactive map.

Once you get off at Feicui Bay, walk a few feet and head towards the right. When heading back to Taipei, walk directly across the street from the bus stop you disembarked. This will also be Feicui Bay {Or Green Bay on Google Maps} but going in the opposite direction. The journey shouldn’t take longer than an hour and a half. All relevant locations have been pinpointed on the map below for your reference.

Price:

The journey should cost you around 73 NT$ {approx. $2.34 USD} one way. Visiting the Wanli UFO Village itself won’t cost you anything {our second favorite “F” word… FREE!}.

What to expect:

Well for starters, you can expect a real creepy vibe. Firstly, these spaceship-esque homes were unexpectedly abandoned by their owners years ago. There are plenty of rumors about what actually happened to the residents of the UFO village. After visiting the homes for myself, it was actually a bit disturbing to witness.

As I entered the first home, normal household belongings had been simply left behind; couches, pillows, fans, pots, pans, irons, and entire fridges were all still in place. When it came to the next home, I stepped over television sets, chairs, bedding, telephones, framed photos, and newspapers. That being said, a majority of the interior had been completely destroyed.

I went to the next home. And the next. And the next. Each one the same. I quickly realized; this wasn’t your standard neighborhood. It was as if a hurricane, or tsunami, had ripped through every home in the UFO Village.

And yet it remains a mystery. The UFO Village is composed of “Futuros” and “Venturos” {for anyone interested in the actual architecture behind these pods}. It was apparently built in the 70’s over the course of two years. Many consider this area haunted due to the lack of information distributed about its history.

In fact, in 2010 news was published and spread around Taiwan that the UFO Village had been demolished. When I began my research, I came across these articles and nearly missed out on the opportunity to see these strange, abandoned structures. But they do indeed exist and remain intact… barely.

Helpful hints:

Actually entering the structures is frowned upon {and possibly illegal}. The only remaining resident in the UFO Village will physically chase you around the neighborhood in a golf cart. Blowing a whistle. Screaming at you to get out of the homes. And fair enough! Regardless of the legality of these pods, it’s no secret they are unsafe by any standard.
Which leads me to my next point, wear closed toed shoes! You don’t want to step on any of the sharp wood/nails/wiring lying around.
This UFO Village is not a huge tourist attraction, but you won’t be alone. It felt strange walking along the eerie streets alone, so I was overwhelmed with a sense of relief when I saw another pair of foreigners.
There isn’t much else going on in the Wanli District, so don’t expect to make a full day trip out of it. That being said, it’s an easy enough journey to complete in the first half of the day, leaving the rest of the afternoon free to explore Taipei.