Hualien County annals record that the city was known as Kilai until the early twentieth century. After Taiwan came under Japanese rule in 1895 its governors sought to change this, as Kilai is pronounced the same as the Japanese word for "dislike". The name was eventually modified to Karen. After World War II the incoming Kuomintang from the Republic of China retained the Kanji spelling for Karen and, via Chinese romanization, made Hualien the official city name. This name has been retained since Taiwan's transition to pluralistic democracy in the 1990s.
The Spaniards built mines for gold in Hualien in 1622. Permanent settlements began in 1851, when 2,200 Han Chinese farmers led by Huang A-fong from Taipei arrived at Fengchuan (now the area near Hualien Rear Station). In 1875, more farmers, led by Lin Cang-an from Yilan, settled at Fengchuan. Settlements in the area remained small by the time the Sino-Japanese War (1894-1895) made Taiwan a territory of Japan. The city was expanded circa 1912 by its Japanese governors to incorporate Guohua and Guoan Villages, a region later known as Old New Port . Around 1923 it was extended to Aolang Port , today known as New Port , including the Guowei and Guoji Villages. In 1946 the incoming Kuomintang designated Hualien a county-controlled city, an administrative structure that has remained in place since Taiwan's transition to democracy (1990-1996)
