Apart from the natural beauty of the city, Hualien also offers tourists many other attractions: the waterfront Seaside Park; Nanbin Park with its numerous marine sculptures, the "Hawaii of the East" Resort built in Polynesian style, reef walking and rock collection at Qixingtan, and the Buddhist Jingsi Temple. Hualien was called “chi-lai” in the ancient period. Owing to the Hualien River empties into the Pacific Ocean on the East Coast , where the surge and wave is turbulent, it is also called “huei-lan,” similar sound with Hualien.

Hualien County, facing the immense Pacific Ocean in the east and leaning against the grand Central Mountain Range in the west, is famous for its beautiful scenery. The natural resources in Taroko National Park, East Coast National Scenic Area, East Rift Valley Scenic Area and Yushan National Park make Hualien one of the most beautiful place in Taiwan.