The short version
Hualien (花蓮縣) has two open universities and colleges in our directory. There are 25 Taiwan Railway stations, and no High Speed Rail station. International students apply for their resident certificate (ARC) at the National Immigration Agency (NIA), which has a service center here: the NIA Hualien County Service Center.
Universities and colleges here
→ Browse Hualien's schools, including any that have closed
The county in numbers
- Registered population 310,550 at the end of September 2026. This is the household registration count (戶籍人口), people registered here, which is not the same as everyone living here.
- Land area 4,628.5714 km², in 13 districts and townships (鄉鎮市區).
- Density 68 people per km², from the end of 2025 figures.
Getting around
- High Speed Rail (THSR) No station here. None of the 12 THSR stations has an address in Hualien.
- Taiwan Railway (TRA) 25 stations with an address here: Fuli (富里), Dongzhu (東竹), Dongli (東里), Yuli (玉里), Sanmin (三民), Ruisui (瑞穗), Fuyuan (富源), Dafu (大富), Guangfu (光復), Wanrong (萬榮), Fenglin (鳳林), Nanping (南平), Linrong Shin Kong (林榮新光), Fengtian (豐田), Shoufeng (壽豐), Pinghe (平和), Zhixue (志學), Ji'an (吉安), Hualien (花蓮), Beipu (北埔), Jingmei (景美), Xincheng (新城), Chongde (崇德), Heren (和仁), Heping (和平).
- Metro and light rail None.
The station list comes from Taiwan Railway's station dataset, which does not say which stations are staffed or which trains stop there. Check a station on Taiwan Railway's own site before you plan a trip around it.
→ Getting around Taiwan: fares, monthly passes, YouBike and scooters
Your ARC: the immigration office
International students apply for the resident certificate (ARC) and register a change of address with the National Immigration Agency (NIA).
- NIA Hualien County Service Center 5F., No.371, Zhongshan Rd., Hualien City, Hualien County 970009, Taiwan (R.O.C.). Phone 03-8329-700.
NIA service centers are open 08:00 to 17:00, Monday to Friday, including the lunch hour. The NIA's Foreigners in Taiwan Hotline is 1990 from a Taiwan phone, or 886-800-001990 from overseas.
Housing and costs
- Dorms: how to apply, who gets priority, fees and rules.
- Tuition and living costs: what rent and everyday life cost across Taiwan.
- Renting: renting a room or flat off campus.
More about Hualien on other sites
Inside Hualien is a guide to Hualien. These are its pages on the topics students ask about most, with NightMarket.tw for night markets.
- The city guide Inside Hualien, the county guide
- Events and what's on Inside Hualien: events this weekend and this month
- Getting around Inside Hualien: getting to and around Hualien
- First weeks Inside Hualien: basics
- Night markets NightMarket.tw: Hualien Dongdamen Night Market; Inside Hualien: Dongdamen Night Market
Official sites
- Hualien County Government (English)
- Hualien tourism site (花蓮旅遊網, in Chinese)
- National Immigration Agency (English)
- Taiwan Tourism Administration (English)