[3] Hualien County annals (花蓮縣志) record that the city was called "Kilai" (Chinese: 奇萊; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Kî-lâi) until the early twentieth century.

After World War II the incoming Kuomintang-led Republic of China retained the Kanji spelling but shortened the name to just Karen (花蓮), or Hualien via Chinese romanization.

Permanent settlements began in 1851, when 2,200 Han Chinese farmers led by Huang A-fong (黃阿鳳) from Taipei arrived at Fengchuan (now the area near Hualien Rear Station).

[citation needed] Settlements in the area remained small by the start of Japanese rule.

The city was expanded circa 1912 by its Japanese governor to incorporate Guohua (國華) and Guoan (國安) Villages, a region later known as Old New Port (舊新港街).

The majority of the aborigines that reside in Hualien include the Amis, Atayal, Truku and Bunun.

Hualien experiences a tropical monsoon climate (Am) with frequent cyclones, as it borders the Pacific Ocean.