Hualien County
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Hualien County
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| Traditional Chinese: | 花蓮縣 | ||||||||||||||
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 花蓮縣 Abbreviation(s): Hualien (花蓮) |
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| County seat | Hualien City |
| Region | Eastern Taiwan |
| County Magistrate | Hsieh Shen-shan (謝深山) |
| Cities | 1 |
| Townships | 12 |
| Area | |
| - Total | 4,628.57141 km² (1 of 25) |
| - % water | 1.0 % |
| Population | |
| - Total | 341,504 (Jan. 2009) (20 of 25) |
| - Density | 73.78/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 Suao-Hualien Highway, Hualien-Taitung Highway, Hualien-Taitung Coast Highway and the Central Cross-Island Highway. Hualien County also contains part of Taroko National Park and Yu Shan National Park.
Its capital is Hualien City.
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[edit] History
Hualien was originally called Kilai(奇萊) by aborigines. In 1622, the Spaniard first arrived to mine for sand gold and called "Turumoan"(多羅滿).
Hualien was one of the last places on Taiwan to be settled by the Han Chinese during Qing Dynasty in 1851 because of its isolated in location. The former name of Hualien was "Huilan"(洄瀾) in official record during Qing Dynasty because the river in Hualien flows into the Pacific Ocean and the water crashes the waves, causing the effect of whirling.
During the period of Japanese Occupation of Taiwan, the pronunciation of "Kilai" in Japanese seems like "disgusting", therefore, they discarded and renamed to "Hualien" for its official title. Before the surrendered of Japan for World War II in 1945, the Governor-General of Taiwan migrated a large amount of Japanese here for improving agriculture and farming.
After the Taiwan Retrocession, the government of Republic of China reinstitute the political system followed by the Constitution of the Republic of China. In 1951, Hualien was the first county in Taiwan to carry out the local autonomy law.
It was mostly modernized in the 1960s. 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.
For now, Hualien is the most important region in eastern Taiwan as well as the one of five main life circle regions in Taiwan. (Taipei, Taichung, Tainan, Kaohsiung)
[edit] Population
Hualien County has 340,000 inhabitants and 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 preserved well. Aborigines make up one-forth of the population of Hualien County (about 90,000). The Hakka people is about 30% of inhabitants.
[edit] Administration
Some towns have Japanese names because these towns were named by Japanese during the Japanese ruling period from 1895 to 1945.
| English | Hanzi | Wade-Giles | Hanyu | Japanese |
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| Hualien City | 花蓮市 | Hua-lien | Huālián | Karen |
| Fenglin Township | 鳳林鎮 | Feng-lin | Fènglín | |
| Yuli Township | 玉里鎮 | Yü-li | Yùlǐ | Tamasato |
| Fengbin Township | 豐濱鄉 | Feng-pin | Fēngbīn | Toyohama |
| Fuli Township | 富里鄉 | Fu-li | Fùlǐ | Tomisato |
| Guangfu Township | 光復鄉 | Kuang-fu | Guāngfù | |
| Ji'an Township | 吉安鄉 | Chi-an | Jí'ān | Yoshiyasu |
| Ruisui Township | 瑞穗鄉 | Jui-sui | Ruìsuì | Mizuho |
| Shoufeng Township | 壽豐鄉 | Shou-feng | Shòufēng | |
| Xincheng Township | 新城鄉 | Hsin-ch'eng | Xīnchéng | |
| Xiulin Township | 秀林鄉 | Hsiu-lin | Xiùlín | |
| Wanrong Township | 萬榮鄉 | Wan-jung | Wànróng | |
| Zhuoxi Township | 卓溪鄉 | Chuo-hsi | Zhuóxī |
[edit] Transportation
- Hualien Airport
- Taiwan Railway Administration - North-Link Line and Hualien-Taitung Line
- Provincial Highway No.8 (Central Cross-Island Highway)
- Provincial Highway No. 9 (Suao-Hualien and Hualien-Taitung Highway)
- Provincial Highway No. 11 (Hualien-Tung Coast Highway)
- Provincial Highway No. 14
- Provincial Highway No. 16
- Provincial Highway No. 23 (Fuli-Tungli Highway)
- Provincial Highway No. 30 (Yuli-Chengbin Highway)
- County Road No.193
- Hualien Port
- Heping Cement Port
[edit] Education
According to 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 has been discarded for years due to less students or located in remote districts.
[edit] External links
- Hualien County Government Website (Chinese) (English)
- East Coast National Scenic Area
- Taroko National Park
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