Hualien County ( Mandarin

Wade–Giles Wade–Giles () is a romanization system for Mandarin Chinese. It developed from a system produced by Thomas Francis Wade, during the mid-19th century, and was given completed form with Herbert A. Giles's '' Chinese–English Dictionary'' o ...

: Hua¹-lien² Hsien⁴; Pīnyīn: ''Huālián Xiàn'';

Hokkien The Hokkien () variety of Chinese is a Southern Min language native to and originating from the Minnan region, where it is widely spoken in the south-eastern part of Fujian in southeastern mainland China. It is one of the national languages ...

POJ: ''Hoa-lian-koān'' or ''Hoa-liân-koān'';

Hakka The Hakka (), sometimes also referred to as Hakka Han, or Hakka Chinese, or Hakkas are a Han Chinese subgroup whose ancestral homes are chiefly in the Hakka-speaking provincial areas of Guangdong, Fujian, Jiangxi, Guangxi, Sichuan, Hunan, Zhej ...

PFS: ''Fâ-lièn-yen''; Amis: ''Kalingko'') is a

county A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposes Chambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

on the east coast of

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the no ...

. It is the largest county by area, yet due to its mountainous

terrain Terrain or relief (also topographical relief) involves the vertical and horizontal dimensions of land surface. The term bathymetry is used to describe underwater relief, while hypsometry studies terrain relative to sea level. The Latin word ...

, has one of the lowest populations in the country. The county seat and largest city is

Hualien City Hualien City (; Wade-Giles: Hua¹-lien² Shih⁴; Hokkien POJ: ''Hoa-lian-chhī'' or ''Hoa-liân-chhī'') is a county-administered city and the county seat of Hualien County, Taiwan. It is located on the east coast of Taiwan on the Pacific Oc ...

. Most of the population resides in the Huadong Valley, which runs north to south, sandwiched between the

Central Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object. Central may also refer to: Directions and generalised locations * Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known a ...

and Hai'an mountain ranges. Due to the rural nature of the county, Hualien attracts many visitors for its natural environment, which includes Taroko Gorge,

Qingshui Cliff Qingshui Cliff () is a 21 kilometer length of coastal cliffs averaging 800 meters above sea level in Xiulin Township, Hualien County, Taiwan. The tallest peak, Qingshui Mountain, rises 2408 meters directly from the Pacific Ocean. The cliff is loc ...

and

Qixingtan Beach The Qixingtan Beach or Chihsingtan Beach () is a beach in Xincheng Township, Hualien County, Taiwan facing the Pacific Ocean. Naming and history Qixingtan Beach was originally located at the east of Hualien airport. Its shape is like the Big Di ...

History

Early history

Modern-day Hualien City was originally called ''Kilai'' (), after the Sakiraya

Taiwanese aborigines Taiwanese may refer to: * Taiwanese language, another name for Taiwanese Hokkien * Something from or related to Taiwan ( Formosa) * Taiwanese aborigines, the indigenous people of Taiwan * Han Taiwanese, the Han people of Taiwan * Taiwanese peo ...

and their settlement. Spanish settlers arrived in 1622 to pan for gold. Picking up the sounds of native words, these settlers called the area ''Turumoan'' ().

Han Chinese The Han Chinese () or Han people (), are an East Asian ethnic group native to China. They constitute the world's largest ethnic group, making up about 18% of the global population and consisting of various subgroups speaking distinctive v ...

settlers arrived in 1851.

Qing Dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-speak ...

records give the name of the region as ''Huilan'' () due to the whirling of waters in the delta.

Empire of Japan

During Taiwan's Japanese colonial period (1895–1945) the island's Japanese governors opted not to transliterate the name "Kiray" because the Japanese pronunciation of the word resembled the Japanese word for . The official name became . Karenkō Prefecture consisted of modern-day Hualien County. Toward the end of World War II the Governor-General of Taiwan moved many Japanese residents of Taiwan to the area to develop agriculture.

Republic of China

After the handover of Taiwan from Japan to the

Republic of China Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the northeas ...

in October 1945, Hualien was established as a

named Hualien County of

Taiwan Province Taiwan Province (; PFS: ''Thòi-vàn-sén'' or ''Thòi-vân-sén'') is a nominal administrative division of the Republic of China (ROC). Its definition has remained part of the Constitution of the Republic of China, but the province is no lo ...

on 9 January 1946. In 1951 Hualien was the first county in Taiwan to be governed according to the ROC local autonomy law. Today the Hualien area serves as the key population centre on the east coast as well as the one of five main life circle regions in Taiwan, together with

Taipei Taipei (), officially Taipei City, is the capital and a special municipality of the Republic of China (Taiwan). Located in Northern Taiwan, Taipei City is an enclave of the municipality of New Taipei City that sits about southwest of the ...

Taichung Taichung (, Wade–Giles: ''Tʻai²-chung¹'', pinyin: ''Táizhōng''), officially Taichung City, is a special municipality located in central Taiwan. Taichung has approximately 2.8 million residents and is the second most populous city of T ...

Tainan Tainan (), officially Tainan City, is a special municipality in southern Taiwan facing the Taiwan Strait on its western coast. Tainan is the oldest city on the island and also commonly known as the "Capital City" for its over 200 years of his ...

and

Kaohsiung Kaohsiung City ( Mandarin Chinese: ; Wade–Giles: ''Kao¹-hsiung²;'' Pinyin: ''Gāoxióng'') is a special municipality located in southern Taiwan. It ranges from the coastal urban center to the rural Yushan Range with an area of . Ka ...

2021 train derailment

On 2 April 2021, a Taroko Express derailed at the north entrance of Qingshui Tunnel after striking an unattended

flatbed truck A flatbed truck (or flatbed lorry in British English) is a type of truck which can be either articulated or rigid. As the name suggests, its bodywork is just an entirely flat, level 'bed' with no sides or roof. This allows for quick and easy loa ...

that had fallen onto the tracks. The accident is the deadliest train accident in Taiwan since 1948, with at least 50 passengers reported dead and more than 150 injured.

Geography

Taiwan 2009 HuaLien City Roadside Cemetery FRD 8181

Hualien County is situated in eastern Taiwan Island. It faces the

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the conti ...

towards

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the n ...

(

Okinawa Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan. Okinawa Prefecture is the southernmost and westernmost prefecture of Japan, has a population of 1,457,162 (as of 2 February 2020) and a geographic area of 2,281 km2 (880 sq mi). Naha is the capital and largest cit ...

) to the east, Central Mountain Range to the west bordering Taichung City,

Nantou County Nantou County (; Hokkien POJ: ''Lâm-tâu-koān''; Hakka PFS: ''Nàm-thèu-yen'') is the second largest county of Taiwan by area, located in the central part of the country. It is also the only non-coastal county in Taiwan. Its name derives fro ...

and

Kaohsiung City Kaohsiung City ( Mandarin Chinese: ; Wade–Giles: ''Kao¹-hsiung²;'' Pinyin: ''Gāoxióng'') is a special municipality located in southern Taiwan. It ranges from the coastal urban center to the rural Yushan Range with an area of . Ka ...

, Yilan County to the north and

Taitung County Taitung County (; Mandarin pinyin: ''Táidōng Xiàn''; Hokkien POJ: ''Tâi-tang-koān''; Hakka PFS: ''Thòi-tûng-yen''; Paiwan: ''Valangaw'';lit:Eastern part of Taiwan) is the third largest county in Taiwan, located primarily on the island ...

to the south. It stretches around from north to south with its width ranging from long from east to west. Its area is about and occupies one eighth of Taiwan's total area. Despite its vast area, only 7% of the county area is populated. The remaining area is occupied by rivers (7%) and mountains (87%). Mountains are composed of Central Mountain Range in the west and

Hai'an Range The Coastal Mountain Range, also known as the Hai'an Range (), is a mountain range situated on the eastern coast of the island of Taiwan, and spans the border between Hualien and Taitung Counties. The Coastal Mountain Range is the northern port ...

in the east. The main rivers in the county are the Hualian River,

Xiuguluan River The Xiuguluan River () is the eighth-longest river in Taiwan with a total length of . It is located in the southeastern part of the island. It flows through the Huadong Valley before emptying into the Pacific Ocean in Fengbin, Hualien. Overvi ...

and their branches. The plains stretch along the valleys between both mountain ranges with a width around . Due to the restriction of its landscape, Hualien people reside mostly on the alluvial fans of the Huatung Valley plains.

Government

Administrative divisions

Hualien County is divided into 1

city A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...

, 2 urban townships, 7 rural townships and 3 mountain indigenous townships. Some towns have Japanese names because these towns were named by Japanese during the Japanese ruling period from 1895 to 1945.

is the county seat and houses the

Hualien County Government The Hualien County Government () is the local government of the Republic of China that governs Hualien County. Organizational structure * Department of Civil Affairs * Department of Finance * Department of Public Works * Department of Urban/Ru ...

and

Hualien County Council The Hualien County Council (HLCC; ) is the elected county council of Hualien County, Republic of China Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the ...

. Colors indicate the common language status of

and Formosan languages within each division.

Politics

Hualien County voted one

Democratic Progressive Party The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) is a Taiwanese nationalist and centre-left political party in the Republic of China (Taiwan). Controlling both the Republic of China presidency and the unicameral Legislative Yuan, it is the majorit ...

legislator to be in the

Legislative Yuan The Legislative Yuan is the unicameral legislature of the Republic of China (Taiwan) located in Taipei. The Legislative Yuan is composed of 113 members, who are directly elected for 4-year terms by people of the Taiwan Area through a parallel v ...

during the 2016 Republic of China legislative election. The incumbent Magistrate of the county is

Hsu Chen-wei Hsu Chen-wei (; born 12 October 1968) is a Taiwanese politician. She is the incumbent Magistrate of Hualien County Hualien County (Mandarin Wade–Giles: Hua¹-lien² Hsien⁴; Pīnyīn: ''Huālián Xiàn''; Hokkien POJ: ''Hoa-lian-koān'' ...

of the

Kuomintang The Kuomintang (KMT), also referred to as the Guomindang (GMD), the Nationalist Party of China (NPC) or the Chinese Nationalist Party (CNP), is a major political party in the Republic of China, initially on the Chinese mainland and in Ta ...

Climate

Demographics and culture

Population

Hualien County has 333,392 inhabitants as of December 2014 and is divided into 1

and 12 townships. Its late development means that many aboriginal cultures such as Amis, Atayal, Bunun, Truku, Sakizaya and Kavalan are well-preserved. As of 2014, aborigines make up 27.5% of the population of Hualien County (about 91,675). The

Hakka people The Hakka (), sometimes also referred to as Hakka Han, or Hakka Chinese, or Hakkas are a Han Chinese subgroup whose ancestral homes are chiefly in the Hakka-speaking provincial areas of Guangdong, Fujian, Jiangxi, Guangxi, Sichuan, Hunan, Zhej ...

comprise about 30% of inhabitants. The county has seen negative population growth since the early 2000s due to emigration to other places outside Hualien County, with an average reduction of 1,393 people per year over the past 18 years. According to a 2015 survey on national happiness index, Hualien County was rated as the happiest place to live in Taiwan among other 20 counties and cities due to the residents happiness driven by strong levels of satisfaction with work-life balance, living condition, education, environmental quality and the performance of the

local government Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of public administration within a particular sovereign state. This particular usage of the word government refers specifically to a level of administration that is both geographically-loc ...

Belief

The internationally famous Buddhist Tzu Chi foundation is headquartered in

. There are also many temples around the county. Buddhism and Folk religions are popular in Hualien County. Hualien County also has the highest concentration of Roman Catholics in Taiwan at 9.46% of the population.

Sports

Hualien County is home to the Hualien Stadium and Hualien Baseball Stadium. Because of its awesome scenic view, fresh air, fine weather, and plenty of well-maintained bike trails, Hualien County is a popular destination for cyclist enthusiasts and marathon runners. Many cycling tournaments and marathon events are held each year in Hualien County. For example,

Taiwan KOM Challenge The Taiwan KOM Challenge is a one-day road cycling race held annually in Taiwan. Created in 2012, the event is recognized as one of the most difficult cycling races in the world due having nearly 3500m of climbing over a 105 kilometer course. Vinc ...

and Taroko Gorge Marathon. Hualien also hosted the 2009 Asian Canoe Polo Championships.

Economy

Xincheng Hualien Taiwan Asia Cement Corporation-03

There is

cement A cement is a binder, a chemical substance used for construction that sets, hardens, and adheres to other materials to bind them together. Cement is seldom used on its own, but rather to bind sand and gravel (aggregate) together. Cement mixe ...

mining activity in the county. The Asia Cement Corporation plant in Xincheng Township contributes nearly 29% of Taiwan's annual cement production.

Education

Higher education

The Hualien County Department of Education lists in all 6 institutions of higher learning within the county's borders as well as 15 high schools, 35 junior high schools and 151 elementary schools, though some of the listed elementary campuses have been closed for years due to their remote location or to low enrollments. Hualien County is home to

National Dong Hwa University National Dong Hwa University (NDHU; ; shortened as "") is a national research university located in Hualien, Taiwan. Established in 1994, NDHU is widely considered as the most potential research university and the most prestigious universi ...

, Tzu Chi University, Taiwan Hospitality and Tourism University,

Tzu Chi University of Science and Technology Tzu Chi University of Science and Technology (TCUST; ) is a private university in Hualien City, Hualien County, Taiwan. History Tzu Chi University of Science and Technology was established by Tzu Chi Buddhist Compassion Relief Foundation ...

and Dahan Institute of Technology.

Mandarin education

* National Dong Hwa University Chinese Language Center *Tzu Chi University Chinese Language Center

Energy

Hualien County houses the hydroelectric Bihai Power Plant with an installed capacity of 61.2 MW and coal-fired Hoping Power Plant with a capacity of 1,320 MW, the fourth largest coal-fired power plant in Taiwan. Both power plants are located in Xiulin Township. Due to the power plant, Hoping is also the location of a deep water

bulk cargo Bulk cargo is commodity cargo that is transported unpackaged in large quantities. Description Bulk cargo refers to material in either liquid or granular, particulate form, as a mass of relatively small solids, such as petroleum/ crude oi ...

port A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as H ...

. Hoping port is located in Hoping Village, Xiulin Township.

Tourist attractions

Taiwan 2009 HuaLien Taroko Gorge Temple FRD 6719

Nature

National parks in the county are Matai'an Wetland Ecological Park, Taroko National Park and

Yushan National Park Yushan National Park () is one of the nine national parks in Taiwan and was named after the summit Yushan, the highest peak of the park.Hehuan Mountain, Pingfeng Mountain,

Qilai Mountain Mount Qilai () is a mountain in Xiulin Township, Hualien County, Taiwan. Its highest point of the range, the Northern Peak, is above sea level. It is named after the Sakizaya people. See also *List of mountains in Taiwan The island of Taiwa ...

and

. Other natural areas include the Liyu Lake, Shihtiping, Mugua River Gorge
Walami Trail
Niushan Huting, East Rift Valley,

Rareseed Ranch The Rareseed Ranch or Ruisui Ranch () is a tourist attraction ranch in Wuhe Village, Ruisui Township, Hualien County, Taiwan. History The ranch was originally a papaya farm. It was then later transformed into a ranch. Milk produced by cows in ...

, Lintianshan Forestry Culture Park and

Museums

Museums and historical buildings in Hualien County include

Dongli Story House The Dongli Story House () is a rice mill in Fuli Township, Hualien County, Taiwan. History The building is a rice mill which was originally established in 1899 named Dongli Rice Factory. In the 1950s, the factory moved to its current bigger lo ...

, Hualien Sugar Factory,

Pine Garden The Pine Garden () is a former Japanese military office in Hualien City, Hualien County, Taiwan. History The area was built in 1943 during the Japanese rule as a military office. The building used to be located inside a pine forest, thus ea ...

Saoba Stone Pillars Saoba Stone Pillars (), as known as Wuhe Stone Pillars (), is an archaeological site at Wuhe Village, Ruisui Township, Hualien County, Taiwan. History The stone pillar are artifacts from Beinan culture since Stone Age era around 2,000-3,000 ye ...

, Hualien Cultural and Creative Industries Park, Lintian Police Substation and Old Lintian Police Station,

Chihsing Tan Katsuo Museum The Chihsing Tan Katsuo Museum () is a museum in Dahan Village, Xincheng Township, Hualien County, Taiwan. The museum is close to Qixingtan Beach and is dedicated to dried bonito fish (katsuobushi). History The museum was once a Japanese Katsu ...

and Hualien County Stone Sculptural Museum.

Theme parks

Farglory Ocean Park is in Hualien County.

Places of worships

Hualien Martyrs' Shrine, Hualien Sheng'an Temple, Hualien Chenghuang Temple, Xiangde Temple, Eternal Spring Shrine and Hualien Al-Falah Mosque are located in the county.

Markets

Night markets in the county are Dongdamen Night Market.

Transportation

* Hualien Airport *

Taiwan Railways Administration Taiwan Railways Administration (TRA) is a railway operator in Taiwan. It is an agency of the Ministry of Transportation and Communications, responsible for managing, maintaining, and running conventional passenger and freight railway services ...

– North-Link Line and Hualien-Taitung Line *Provincial Highway No.8 ( Central Cross-Island Highway) * Provincial Highway No. 9 (Su'ao-Hualien and Hualien-Taitung Highway) * Provincial Highway No. 11 (Hualien-Taitung Coast Highway) *Provincial Highway No. 14 * Provincial Highway No. 16 * Provincial Highway No. 23 (Fuli-Donghe Highway) * Provincial Highway No. 30 ( Yuchang Highway) *County Road No.193 *

Port of Hualien The Port of Hualien () is an international port on the Pacific Ocean in Hualien City, Hualien County, Taiwan. Its artificial harbor protected by breakwaters was built in 1930–1939. There are 25 wharves in Hualien Port. The annual container volu ...

*Heping Cement Port

Relative location

References

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