Pushi, formerly known as Pukou, was renamed Pushi during the reign of Emperor Kangxi in the Qing Dynasty. It's located on the west bank of the middle reaches of the Yuanshui River, 22 kilometers away from Luxi County. It's a national historical and cultural town with a long history. Qu Yuan, a patriotic poet of Chu State during the Warring States Period, was sent into exile here and wrote many famous works.

Ma Yuan, Fubo General of the Han Dynasty, also fought here. Pushi Ancient Town was governed by Nanyang Jun in the Northern and Southern Dynasties. A military institute was set up here in the Song Dynasty and Xidong patrol division was established here in the Ming Dynasty.

Pushi is a prosperous ancient town because of independent military and commerce. In spite of the relatively backward land transportation in ancient times, Pushi developed into an important trading port and town in the middle reaches of the Yuanshui River by virtue of its rich specialties, flat terrain and special water transportation advantages.

At that time, more than 20 guilds and nine wharves were set up here, which showed the prosperity unique to this town.