Yuli, 玉里
Yuli (玉里) is located in southeastern Taiwan (台灣) in Hualian (花蓮) County. With a population of 21,000 residing in an area of 92.4 square miles, Yuli is the third most sparsely populated township in Taiwan. The main sources of income for the local economy are tourism and agriculture.
Yuli was settled by the indigenous Amis people (阿美族) for thousands of year before outside settlers to arrive in the 1850s. Today there are 21 Amis villages (tribes) in Yuli with population of around 6,800 (32.3%).
Yuli is located in a fertile river valley flanked by two mountain ranges formed the Eurasian Plate and the Philippine Plate converge, the Xiuguluan River (秀姑巒溪) runs through the center of the area.
The convergence of two tectonic plates means the region suffers from frequent and devasting earthquakes.
2022 Earthquake
On September 18, 2022, a few weeks after our first visit, a 6.9 earthquake struck Yuli (following a 6.5 foreshock the day before), destroying buildings and toppling the Gaoliao Bridge which connects the two sides of the town across the Xiuguluan River.
2024 Earthquake
On April 3, 2024, a 7.2 earthquake struck 20 miles north of Yuli, cutting off rail and road connections between Yuli and the capital city of Taipei for weeks while temporary repairs were completed. Aftershocks have continued till now. We kept our promise and visited and stayed with the children at Yu-Tung Junior High School in July.
Yu-Tung Jr. High (玉東國中)
Yu-Tung Junior High School (玉東國中) (Facebook) is a small school located in eastern Yuli, 30 minutes away from town center, serving students in 7th, 8thand 9th grades from the surrounding villages. Many of the students are from low-income families where they are being raised by grandparents. The staff and teachers at Yu-Tung are a group of dedicated educators, working tirelessly to prepare their students for the next stage of their lives whether it’s on to high schools or vocational schools. They keep the school open every summer, giving the students a place to go where they can study, play, take part in organized summer activities and enjoy free school lunch. For the last three summers (2022, 2023 and 2024), Yu-Tung’s staff, teachers and students have hosted our group, treating us as part of their family and making us feel like home.