Lishui has a very long history, for during the Liangzhu culture period 4000 years ago, there were tribes living in the area.

In 589, a prefecture called Chuzhou was established by the Sui dynasty with Kuocang, Songyang, Linhai, Yongjia, Angu and Lechen counties under its jurisdiction.

By the year 1997, Longquan, Qingtian, Jinyun, Yunhe, Qingyuan, Suichang, Songyang and Jingning were under the jurisdiction of Lishui, Liandu District serving as the administrative headquarters.

Lishui is situated in the southwest of Zhejiang province, with its administrative area covering latitude 27° 25' to 28° 57' N and longitude 118° 41' to 120° 26' E. It borders the cities of Ningde and Nanping (Fujian province) to the southwest as well as Quzhou to the northwest, Jinhua to the north, Taizhou to the northeast, and Wenzhou to the southeast.

Elevations in the city's administration increase from northeast to southwest and there are 3,573 peaks that reach an altitude of 1,000 meters (3,300 ft) or more.

Autumn and early winter are the driest times of the year, while from March to June rain falls on more than half of the days.

Under the guide of the basic line of the third Plenary Session of the eleventh Party Congress, the local government of Lishui has transformed its work priority to economic development.

Timber, waterpower, mineral deposit and wilderness are four major natural resources of Lishui prefecture that rank first in Zhejiang province.

Its main industries are wood and bamboo production, ore smelting, textile, clothes making, construction materials, pharmaceutical chemistry, electronic machinery and food processing.

Among them, wooden toys, mini electronic machinery, overedger, eider down products, gold pens and quality soaps are the most welcome.

The prefecture is now a commercial base for edible fungi, Nasdaq listed Farmmi is the main exporter, as well as dried and fresh fruit, bamboo and bamboo shoots, tea, commercial forest, oil tea, sericulture, herb medicine, vegetable and nuts.

The city of Lishui has stepped up its tourism recovery and integration into the Yangtze River Delta region with a number of agreements inked in Shanghai.

Yan Yu Lou (misty rain tower) was built during the Northern Song dynasty (AD 960–1127).

The most characteristic local dishes are Jade Mutton Roll, Shan Fen Ball, Anren Fish with beancurd, and Xian Cai Hot Pot.