As lumber and rock were being pulled out of the Chingshui area in full force, the chief residential center of the area, Yuli, which had been a simple little town, prospered to become the east coast's lumber center and third largest city after Hualien and Taitung.
當清水溪木材、石礦傾巢而出，位在下游的首要聚落玉里，也由純樸小鎮剎時繁榮起來，以東部最大木材集散地的身分，成為花蓮市與台東市之外的花東最大市鎮。