| Hualien County | |||||||||||||||
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| Tropic of Cancer monument | |||||||||||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 花蓮縣 | ||||||||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 花莲县 | ||||||||||||||
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| Hualien County 花蓮縣 Abbreviation(s): Hualien (花蓮) |
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| County seat | Hualien City |
| Region | Eastern Taiwan |
| County Magistrate | Fu, Kun-Chi （傅琨萁) |
| Cities | 1 |
| Townships | 12 |
| Area | |
| - Total | 4,628.57141 km² (1 of 25) |
| - % water | 1.0 % |
| Population | |
| - Total | 340,794 (March 2010) (20 of 25) |
| - Density | 73.63/km² |
| Symbols | |
| - County flower | Lotus (Nymphaeaceae) |
| - County tree | Peepul (Ficus religiosa) |
| - County bird | Maroon Oriole (Oriolus traillii) |
| Official websites | (Chinese) |
Hualien County is the largest county in Taiwan and is located on the mountainous eastern coast of Taiwan. It contains the island's largest port. It is the starting point of the Hualien-Taitung Line and the terminal point of North-Link Line of TRA. For the Provincial highway System, Hualien has the connection of Suhua Highway, Huatung Highway, Hualien-Taitung Coast Highway and the Central Cross-Island Highway. Hualien County also contains part of Taroko National Park and Yushan National Park.
The seat of Hualien County is Hualien City.
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Hualien was originally called Kilai (奇萊) by the native Austronesian inhabitants of Taiwan. Spanish settlers arrived in 1622 to pan for gold. Picking up the sounds of native words, these settlers called the area "Turumoan" (多羅滿). Han Chinese settlers arrived in 1851. Qing Dynasty record the name of the region as "Huilan" (洄瀾 "eddies") due to the whirling of waters in the delta.
During Taiwan's Japanese colonial period (1985-1945) the island's Japanese governors opted not to transliterate the name "Kilai" as the Japanese pronunciation of the word resembled the Japanese word for "disgusting" (嫌い). The official name became "Karen" (花蓮; かれん). Toward the end of World War II the Governor-General of Taiwan moved many Japanese residents of Taiwan to the area to develop agriculture.
After Japan's surrender in 1945 rule of Taiwan passed to the Chinese Kuomintang . The Kuomintang soon became refugees in Taiwan following the rise of Communism in China (1949) but continued to govern the island according to the Republic of China constitution. In 1951 Hualien was the first county in Taiwan to be governed according to the ROC local autonomy law.
In the 1990s Taiwan transformed itself into a self-governing multiparty democracy. 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. (Taipei, Taichung, Tainan, Kaohsiung)
A great white shark was caught off Hualien County on May 14, 1997. Reportedly almost 7 meters in length and weighing 2500 kg, it is the largest specimen ever recorded.
Hualien County has 340,000 inhabitants and is divided into 1 city and 12 townships. Its late development means that many aboriginal cultures such as Ami, Atayal, Bunun, Truku, Sakizaya and Kavalan are well-preserved. Aborigines make up one-forth of the population of Hualien County (about 90,000). The Hakka people comprise about 30% of inhabitants.
Some towns have Japanese names because these towns were named by Japanese during the Japanese ruling period from 1895 to 1945.
| English | Japanese |
|---|---|
| Hualien City | Karen |
| Fenglin Township | |
| Yuli Township | Tamasato |
| Fengbin Township | Toyohama |
| Fuli Township | Tomisato |
| Guangfu Township | |
| Ji'an Township | Yoshiyasu |
| Ruisui Township | Mizuho |
| Shoufeng Township | |
| Wanrong Township | |
| Xincheng Township | |
| Xiulin Township | |
| Zhuoxi Township |
According to the Department of Education of Hualien County Government, Hualien County has 6 universities (or colleges), 15 high schools, 35 junior high schools and 151 elementary schools. Some elementary schools have been closed for years due to low enrollments or their remote location.
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