Sanming itself is a city that started with heavy industry. In the early years of the Republic of China, the city center was Sanyuan Town, Shaxian County. At the end of the Republic of China, Sanyuan County was established with Sanyuan Town as the center. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, Sanming was finally upgraded to a prefecture-level city by the rocket, and merged with Mingxi County during the upgrade.
Heavy industry has also developed into today's Sangang Group. Located in Meilie District, this Sangang Group is the top brand of Fujian Metallurgical (Holdings) Co., Ltd., the ninth largest enterprise in Fujian. The population of Meilie District is only184,000, so the per capita GDP is about184,000, ranking fifth among 84 counties in the province.