Cangnan County has a long history and outstanding people. There have been human activities as early as the Shang and Zhou dynasties. Humanities have gathered since the Song and Yuan Dynasties. It was the anti-Japanese front line in the Ming Dynasty. It was an old revolutionary base during the new nationalist revolution. In 1988, it was approved by the State Council as a coastal county open to the outside world.
In today's Cangnan , as early as the Neolithic Age, there were human activities on Dulong Mountain in Lingxi Town, , and stone tools and ancient pottery fragments were left behind. To this day, there are still 7 stone shed tombs from the Shang and Zhou dynasties left in Tongqiao Village, Qianku Town. It was a relatively special tomb structure found in the coastal areas of southern Zhejiang at that time. This type of megalithic tomb culture was extremely rare in China and has been listed as a "national protection" unit. During the Shang and Zhou dynasties, human activities gradually became more frequent. In the Spring and Autumn Period, it was the land of Dongou Yue people. It belonged to Yue during the Warring States period. After Qin unified China, it belonged to Minzhong County. In the fifth year of Emperor Gaozu of the Han Dynasty (202 BC), the Kingdom of Minyue was established in the former place of in central Fujian, and it belonged to the Kingdom of Minyue. In the third year of Emperor Hui of the Han Dynasty (192 BC), he established Zouyao as King of East China Sea, with his capital in Dongou (now Wenzhou), known as King Dongou in the world, and the jurisdiction of East China Sea. During the reign of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty , the whole people of Dongou moved inland to the Yangtze River and Huaihe River, and the country was eliminated. In the second year of Emperor Zhao of the Han Dynasty (85 BC), today's Cangnan belongs to Huipu County. The local Minnan culture mainly comes from the immigrants of Putian people from southern Fujian during the Ming Dynasty Qing Dynasty and the Putian people who had immigrated to Quanzhou and Zhangzhou immigrated again to Wenzhou. It is centered in Cangnan County and is called Southern Zhejiang Min language. , since then it has belonged to Zhang'an, Yongning, Luoyang, Anyang, Angu, Shiyang, Hengyang, Yongjia, Pingyang and other counties. The first year of Zhanghe in the Eastern Han Dynasty (87 years), the name of Huipu County was changed to Zhang'an County. In the ninth year of Kaihuang's reign (589) in the Sui Dynasty, Zhang'an County was merged into Linhai County and belonged to Chuzhou. During the Sui and Tang Dynasties, due to frequent wars, the Linhai County system was abolished and merged into Angu or Yongjia. In the fourth year of Emperor Wu and Yue's reign (914), Pingyang County was established.
On March 6, 1981, the Pingyang County Committee of the Communist Party of China and the Pingyang County Revolutionary Committee submitted the "Report on the Issue of Requesting to Divide Counties" to the Zhejiang Provincial Committee of the Communist Party of China and the Zhejiang Provincial Revolutionary Committee. On June 18, the State Council issued a reply to the provincial government, approving the establishment of Cangnan County. 72 communes in 7 districts including Fanshan Town, Lingxi, Fanshan, Mazhan, Jinxiang, Qianku, Yishan, and Qiaodun, which originally belonged to Pingyang, were placed under the jurisdiction of Cangnan County. The county seat is located in Lingxi Town. On November 5 of the same year, the Cangnan and Pingyang branches opened. After several administrative division adjustments, it has jurisdiction over 36 towns (including 16 townships and 220 administrative towns), 104 residential areas, and 818 administrative villages, with a total population of 1.224 million.
