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Hwalien

Hualien
花蓮市
County-controlled city
Hualien City
Hualien City
Hualien City
Nickname(s): Huashi (花市)
Hualien City
Hualien City
Hualien is located in Taiwan
Hualien
Hualien
Location in Taiwan
Coordinates: 23°58′20″N 121°36′23″E / 23.97222°N 121.60639°E / 23.97222; 121.60639Coordinates: 23°58′20″N 121°36′23″E / 23.97222°N 121.60639°E / 23.97222; 121.60639
Country Taiwan
County Hualien County
Government
 • Type County-controlled city
 • Mayor Wei Chia-hsien (KMT)
Area
 • Total 29.41 km2 (11.36 sq mi)
Population (December 2014)
 • Total 106,368
Time zone CST (UTC+8)
Post code 970
Subdivision 45 Boroughs
Website www.hualien.gov.tw
Hualien City
Traditional Chinese 花蓮市
Simplified Chinese 花莲市

Hualien City (Chinese: 花蓮市; pinyin: Huālián Shì), 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.

Hualien County annals (花蓮縣志) record that the city was called "Kiray" (Chinese: 奇萊; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Kî-lâi) 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" ( kirai?). The name was eventually changed to Karen Harbour (Japanese: 花蓮港 Hepburn: Karenkō?). After World War II the incoming Kuomintang-led Republic of China retained the Kanji spelling but shortened the name to just Karen (花蓮), or Hualien via Chinese romanization.


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