Peace Square: Where the Sea Remembers

#2026-0420

和平廣場 ● 海之記憶

（地點：花蓮市海濱街曙光橋頭旁）

💙 Peace Square: Where the Sea Remembers 💜

In Hualien City, if one wishes to see the sea, many would think first of Qixingtan Beach, or the familiar stretches of Nanbin and Beibin Parks. Yet not far from the city center, beside a quiet bridge, there is another place—less spoken of, but gently waiting: Peace Square.

Set beside Shuguang Bridge (曙光橋), Peace Square (和平廣場) was completed in 2013. Its opening ceremony was held on February 28 Incident Memorial Day, a date chosen with care. The name “Peace” was not given lightly. It carries with it a memory—quiet, but enduring.

In 1947, the February 28 Incident swept across Taiwan, leaving sorrow in its wake. Hualien, distant as it may seem, was not untouched. More than two hundred people here in Hualien County became victims. Among them, the story of Dr. Chang Chi-lang (張七郎醫師) and his two sons remains one of the most remembered.

For many years, a simple memorial stood in Beibin, but to some families, it felt insufficient—as if memory itself had been reduced to a formality. In time, this space beside the bridge was reshaped into Peace Square. Here, a monument in the form of an open page was placed, as though history itself had paused—waiting to be read, and perhaps understood.

Near it hangs a bell.

When the wind stirs and the bell is struck, its sound travels outward, dissolving into the sea air. Each note feels less like a signal, and more like a quiet offering—a remembrance carried gently forward by those who came after.

And yet, life continues around it.

Benches line the square. The bridge and surrounding walls have been repainted, adding colors that soften the edge of the ocean’s blue. Visitors come, sit, and look out toward the horizon. Children may pass through without knowing the weight beneath their feet. The place feels, at first glance, like a simple seaside park.

But Peace Square is not only a place to rest.

Beneath its calm surface lies a story that asks not to be forgotten. It does not speak loudly. Instead, it lingers—like the fading light at dusk, or the quiet flow of a creek—inviting those who pause long enough to listen.

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