History of Wenzhou

Ancient history
Wenzhou has a history which goes back to about 2500 BC, when it became known for its pottery production as one of the cities of origin of celadon in ancient China.

Wenzhou was the capital of the ancient Dong’ou Kingdom which existed from 191 BC until it was conquered by Minyue Kingdom in 138 BC.

About 80% of the people in Wenzhou trace their ancetsry from Fujian, the vast majority of them coming from northern Fujian.

Imperial China
In the early 2nd century BC, shortly after the destruction of Qin dynasty, military and political leader Zou Yao (驺摇) of Wenzhou helped the emperor Gaozu of Han, the first emperor of Han Dynasty, defeat the prominent warlord Xiang Yu of Qin Dynasty. After the victory, emperor Hui of Han, the second emperor of Han dynasty named Zhou Yao the King of Dong’ou (Wenzhou), and under the administration of emperor Hui, Wenzhou became the capital of the Dong’ou Kingdom which is the modern-day area of southern Zhejiang.

Around 760AD in Tang dynasty, the founding emperor Emperor Gaozu of Tang named Yongkia (earlier as Dong’ou) by its current name Wenzhou because of its mild weather.

Modern era
Throughout its history, Wenzhou’s traditional economic role has been as a port giving access to the mountainous interior of southern Zhejiang Province. In early European sources, the name Wenzhou-Fu or -Foo was often transcribed Ouen-tcheou-fou after the accounts of French-speaking missionaries. In 1876, Wenzhou was opened for tea exports, but no foreign settlement was ever established there. Between 1937 and 1942, during the Second Sino-Japanese War (i.e., World War II), Wenzhou achieved importance as one of the few ports still under Chinese control. It declined in the later years of the war, but began to recover after coastal trade along the Zhejiang coast was re-established in 1955.

Source From: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wenzhou#History