[1] Yangmei town was originally established as Yangmeili (Chinese: 楊梅壢; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Iûⁿ-mûi-le̍k) during Qing dynasty rule.

The district owes its name from the abundance of Myrica rubra (yangmei trees) when Chinese immigrants entered the area.

Renmei, Puxin, Guanghua, Jinlong, Siwei, Yongping, Ruitang, Ruiping, Meixi, Ruixi, Jinxi, Sanmin, Yangming, Yucheng, Yuxin, Datong, Zhongshan, Yangmei, Yangjiang, Meixin, Hongmei, Yongning, Daping, Xiucai, Tungliu, Fengye, Fugang, Fufeng, Yuanben, Sanhu, Touhu, Shanghu, Shangtian, Gaoshan, Gaoshang, Jingshan, Gaorong, Shuangrong, Xinrong, Shuimei and Ruiyuan Village.

[citation needed] One of the largest clusters of TFT-LCD plants are located in the area, Yangmei is also a transport hub with several container terminals present in the city.

Another large industrial enterprise in Yangmei is China Motor Corporation, which builds Mitsubishi cars under license.

Taiwan High Speed Rail passes through the central part of the district, but there is no planned station.