Hoalieen
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Hoalieen (花蓮 Hualien), Hoaliefn
History
Source: Hualien County#History
Taiwanese aborigines originally called the place "Kiray" (Kilaai (奇萊 shortened from "Sakiraya")). Spanish settlers arrived in 1622 to pan for gold. Picking up the sounds of native words, these settlers called the area Turumoan (多羅滿). Han settlers arrived in 1851. Qing dynasty recorded the name of the region as Hoee-laan or Hoee-lieen (洄瀾 "eddies") due to the whirling of waters in the delta.
During Japanese era, Japanese governors opted not to transliterate "Kilai" because it sounds similar to "dislike" (Jidguo: 嫌い kirai) in Japanese. The official name became Karenkō (花蓮港), eventually shortened to just Karen (花蓮).