Hualien - Taiwan

Hualien is located in eastern Taiwan, which is long and narrow. Its back is close to the Central Mountain Range, but it faces the Pacific Ocean. As it is crisscrossed by waterways, the scenery is beautiful, the climate is warm and the four seasons are very similar(average temperature 23C; ranfall is 1,927 mm per year). Whether for making one's home. setting up a factory, running a farm or having a business, everyone considers Hualien an ideal place.

In fact, Hualien is one of the biggest producers of marble in the world. In 2000, the quarrying operations around Taroko Gorge produced nearly nine million tons of the decorative stone. This has led to Hualien being dubbed "City of Marble" by the local tourist authority, a name, which it lives up to by liberal use of the material. Marble features prominently in most of the large hotels and public buildings in the city, and even sections of sidewalk are paved with slabs of it. To show local gratitude for the naturally occurring abundance of the valuable stone, Hualien even has a temple built almost exclusively of marble: the opulent Temple of Eastern Purity, just off Kungyuan Road.