Hualien City (traditional Chinese: 花蓮市; pinyin: Huāliánshì; Wade-Giles: Hua-lien shih; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Hoa-liân-chhī) is the capital of Hualien County, Taiwan. It is located on the East coast of Taiwan, by the Pacific Ocean, and has a population of about 110,000 inhabitants.
According to The Record of Hualien County (花蓮縣志), Hualien was originally called Kilai (traditional Chinese: 奇萊; pinyin: Jīlái; Wade-Giles: Chi-lai; Taiwanese: Kî-lâi; Japanese: き...
more
Hualien City (traditional Chinese: 花蓮市; pinyin: Huāliánshì; Wade-Giles: Hua-lien shih; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Hoa-liân-chhī) is the capital of Hualien County, Taiwan. It is located on the East coast of Taiwan, by the Pacific Ocean, and has a population of about 110,000 inhabitants.
According to The Record of Hualien County (花蓮縣志), Hualien was originally called Kilai (traditional Chinese: 奇萊; pinyin: Jīlái; Wade-Giles: Chi-lai; Taiwanese: Kî-lâi; Japanese: きらい). Because Kilai (Kirai in Japanese Romaji) is pronounced the same as "dislike" (嫌い) in Japanese, the Japanese administration changed the name into Karen (花蓮; かれん) in the early 20th century. After World War II, the same Kanji (花蓮) were kept by the Republic of China Kuomintang administration, which promoted the Chinese romanization "Hualien".
The Spaniards tried to mine 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. In 1875, more farmers,...
less