Hualien County

The Hualien County (Chinese花莲 县, Pinyin Hualian Xiàn, Tongyong Pinyin Hualian Sian, W.-G. Hualien Hsien ) is a district of the Republic of China on Taiwan. It occupies the central part of Taiwan's eastern and is 4628 km ², the largest surface area of all 22 counties and cities of the Republic of China. Its capital is the city of Hualien.

Location

The Hualien County is bordered on the north by the Yilan County, in the northwest of the city of Taichung, to the west by the Nantou County, in the southwest of the city of Kaohsiung, in the south by the Taitung County and on the east by the Pacific Ocean.

Most of the district territory is made up of the central mountain range of Taiwan, which extends in the northeast to the sea. There is located on the lower reaches of the river Liwu the dug in marble rocks Taroko Gorge, one of the greatest natural attractions of Taiwan. The gorge is the main tourist attraction of the Hualien County and nestled in the Taroko National Park, which covers nearly the entire north of the circle.

To the county seat Hualien extends a narrow coastal plain, south of it separates the Huatung ditch the central mountains from one up to 1682 m high coastal mountains. The Yu Shan National Park extends into the south-west of the county. There is located on the border of the neighboring county of Nantou Xiuguluan Shan (秀姑 峦 山), the highest mountain with 3805 m of Hualien County.

Population

Due to its secluded location reached Chinese settlers, the area of Hualien County until the mid- 19th century, later than other parts of Taiwan. Today, the mountainous district is one of the most sparsely populated regions of the island. The only major city with about 110,000 inhabitants, is the county town of Hualien.

The Hualien County is the main settlement area of ​​the Amis, the largest indigenous people of Taiwan. In addition, it is home to members of the Atayal, Bunun, Truku, Sakizaya and Kavalan. Overall, the indigenous peoples represent about a quarter of the 340,000 inhabitants, a further 30% accounted for by members of the Hakka.

Transport and Infrastructure

The Hualien County is adjacent to the southern neighboring Taitung County the only county in Taiwan, which is not connected to the motorway network. The major routes and the eastern main line of the Taiwan Railway pass through the county in a north-south direction. The Tarakoschlucht is the starting point of a 3275 m high mountain pass on the Hehuanshan in Nantou County, which is the only direct road link to central and western Taiwan.

The capital city of Hualien has the most important harbor on the east coast of Taiwan, and used mainly for domestic flights Hualien Airport is the largest in eastern Taiwan. In 2007 there was the first charter flight to the adjacent Japanese island of Ishigaki with the municipality of the same name, and since November 2009, there has piloted a quasi- regular service (two flights per week) there.

Cities and Towns

The county town of Hualien is the only major city (市, Shì ) of the district. In addition, there are two townships (镇, zhen ) and ten rural communities (乡, Xiang ).

Some communities have Japanese names from the period of Japanese rule over Taiwan 1895-1945.