The Chinese name
Yongkang means "eternal well-being." The city was formally established in 245CE in the
Wu Kingdom, during the
Three Kingdoms (220280CE) period. In the last two decades, the city has become known for both its aggressive promotion of tourism and its booming hardware manufacturing industry. It is widely considered "the hardware capital of China," though Shenzhen has also been given the title. In 2003, Yongkang's GDP ranked 47th out of over one thousand counties nationwide. Lizhou was the ancient name of Yongkang. According to legend, when the mother of
Sun Quan, the
King of Wu, was ill, she went on a pilgrimage to pray for "eternal well-being" at a temple in Lizhou. After she recovered, Sun Quan was very pleased and named the area Yongkang ("eternal well-being") after her speedy recovery. At that time, it was a part of
Wushang City; however, during the
Tang dynasty, Yongkang was independently recognized under the name Lizhou, eventually becoming the general administrative area of
Yue Prefecture. In 1992, the
State Council approved Yongkang as a
county-level city. ==Administrative divisions==