Hualien 6.79

Hualien City is a county-controlled city and the county seat of Hualien County, Taiwan. It is located on the east coast of Taiwan on the Pacific Ocean, and has a population of 106,368 inhabitants.NameHualien County annals record that the city was called "Kiray" until the early twentieth century. This name refers to the Sakiraya Taiwanese aborigines and their settlement.After Taiwan came under Japanese rule in 1895 its governors sought to change the name because "Kiray" is pronounced the same as the Japanese word for "dislike". The name was eventually changed to Karen Harbour. After World War II the incoming Kuomintang-led Republic of China retained the Kanji spelling but shortened the name to just, or Hualien via Chinese romanization.HistoryThe Spaniards built mines for gold in Hualien in 1622. Permanent settlements began in 1851, when 2,200 Han Chinese farmers led by Huang A-fong (黃阿鳳) from Taipei arrived at Fengchuan (now the area near Hualien Rear Station). In 1875, more farmers, led by Lin Cang-an (林蒼安) from Yilan, settled at Fengchuan.