When the city of Longyan, Fujian province made some administrative changes, with State Council approval, Yongding county, which is under its jurisdiction, suddenly found itself Yongding district, with province covering the adjustment costs, such as staff and boundary changes.

Longyan previously contained only one district and five counties, but in 2002, the municipal Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference came up with the idea of a Yongding district and the proposal finally got approval at the third session of the Longyan National People's Congress, in 2011.

The county is a famous old revolutionary base on the border of Fujian and Guangdong provinces and is one of 21 counties that comprised the Central Soviet Area and a famous home of overseas Chinese in Fujian. And, it has abundant tourism resources.