Geographical location of Hualien County

Hualien County is nestled between the vast Pacific Ocean on one side and the majestic Central Mountain Range on the other. With the mountains and the sea as companions, it is no wonder that Hualien County has a beautiful environment with countless captivating landscapes, including the peaks and valleys of the Taroko National Park. The beautiful East Coast National Scenic Area and the East Rift Valley National Scenic Area are home to breathtaking pastoral views and majestic Yushan National Park landscapes. The county is long and narrow, stretching 137.5 km north to south and 43 km east to west. At the narrowest point, the county is 27 km wide. With a vast territory of 4,628.5714 km2the county accounts for 1/8 of the land in Taiwan, giving it the largest area of all counties on the island. Of this land, plains, rivers, and mountains account for 7%, 6%, and 87%, respectively.

Development Positioning and Strengths of Hualien County

Hualien County possesses internationally renowned scenes and landscapes. Its majestic Taroko National Park is not only the best travel destination in Taiwan, it is also one of the most famous scenic areas in Asia. In addition to its natural views, Hualien County is also rich in culture, making it your best choice for vacationing, ecotourism, and exploring native villages.

Many elements are closely linked in the promotion of tourism, including transportation, safety, lodging, dining, and the cityscape/landscape. Hualien County has already established an Asian tourism promotion plan, in hopes of attracting tourists from Taiwan and abroad for an in-depth tour of the area. This will invigorate tourism and add vitality and drive to Hualien County's tourism industry. The plans will also allow Hualien County to manifest its charm and the county’s motto of "internationalization and tourism in Hualien County."

Infrastructure

Utility Facilities

Electricity

Hualien County has 10 hydraulic power stations with a combined production capacity of 183,000 kw. By using delivery and power lines in the eastern and western parts of the county, 350,000 kw can be delivered to meet the electricity needs of the eastern portion of Hualien. Furthermore, Taiwan Power Company is planning to construct new power plants to meet future needs.

In response to global trends toward carbon reduction and green energy, sun-tracking solar power generators and wind turbine systems have been set up. The 50 kw sun-tracking solar generator and the 9 kwp wind turbines demonstration system can generate power during the day and at night, respectively. The annual power generation capacity of this system is approximately 70,000 kWh, bringing a reduction of 60 tons of carbon dioxide emissions per year. This reduces environmental pollution and achieves the goals of environmental and economic sustainability.

Water Supply

Currently, Hualien County's tap water penetration rate is 84.3% and the county supplies 42,367,000 m3 of water annually. Water-supply improvement plans will be able to satisfy the residents' water use requirements. Within Hualien County are many unpolluted rivers and streams, mountain springs, and abundant underground water sources. The rivers flow over geological fault zones, which means there are many outstanding hot springs that present great potential for tourism development. There are three rivers under Central Government management: the Xiuguluan River (241.31 Km), Hualien River (236.65 Km), and Heping River (42.00 Km), totaling 519.96 km in length, along with 12 rivers under county management with a total length of 163.22 km.

Transport Infrastructure

Highways

There are a total of 11 provincial highways in Hualien County (total length: 439.4 km), one county road (110.5 km), and 92 rural roads (total length: 423.8 km).

There are four main roads for outside access:

• Suhua Highway (Provincial Highway 9): The primary northbound road leading out of the county. This is a key road for both tourism and transportation.
• Huatung Highway (Provincial Highway 9): The county's main transportation route connecting Hualien County with Taitung and Southern Taiwan.
• Central Cross-Island Highway (Provincial Highway 8): This route boasts beautiful scenery along the way. In particular, the Tianxiang and Taroko regions are renowned for their world-class natural views.
• Hualien–Taitung Coastal Highway (Provincial Highway 11): The primary thoroughfare crossing through the East Coast National Scenic Area. This highway is very important for rural transportation and the development of coastal township industries and resources.

Railways

The Hualien–Taitung Railway (Hualien–Fuli) has a total length of 106 km, while the North-Loop Railway (Hualien–Heping) has a total length of 40 km. The North-Loop Railway is an important transportation route that links to other railways around Taiwan. Over the course of its history, this railway has been upgraded to double rails and to accommodate electric trains, both of which increase transportation throughput and reduce transportation times. The distance from Yilan's new Su'ao station to Hualien County's new station is 83.3 km; the branch route distance is 5.8 km)

Air Transport

The Civil Aeronautics Administration established Hualien Airport on May 16, 1962. In 2001, the airport started accepting chartered planes to and from Japan. The new terminal began operations in 2004 in collaboration with the county’s tourism promotion efforts, and to promote internationalization.

Ocean freight

Hualien Port is the main international commercial port on the east coast. The port has 25 piers, and boasts an annual cargo processing capacity of 134,813,480,000 tons. Hualian Port is also the main shipping port for cement and ore (gravel) produced in the east, while also acting as a port for tourism and water sports.

Communications Infrastructure

The household landline telephone penetration rate in Hualien County is 93.45%. In the wireless communication sector, privately operated telecom companies such as Chunghwa Telecom, Fareastone, Taiwan Mobile, TransAsia Telecom, T Star, and Asia Pacific Telecom provide mobile phone services. Most of the mountainous regions have telecom base stations so there are no signal dead zones. As for internet service, Chunghwa Telecom Hinet is the primary supplier of ADSL and FTTB broadband Internet services.

Commercial and Industrial Administration Section, Tourism Department, Hualien County Government

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