Hualien City

Hualien City sits on a narrow coastal plain where the Hualien River reaches the Pacific. It was called Kilai until the Japanese renamed it Karenkō in the early twentieth century, and it grew as the administrative and transport centre of the east coast. The city has a working port, a railway station on the north-link and east-link lines, and a population that is about one-eighth indigenous. Its night market, stone sculpture museum and seafood restaurants are the main draws for travellers heading to the gorge.