Gaoyou has a long history and profound cultural heritage, and is one of the first provincial-level historical and cultural cities in Jiangsu Province. In 223 BC, Ying Zheng, king of Qin, built a high platform and set up a postal kiosk here, hence the name Gaoyou, also known as postal service. The county was founded in the fifth year of founding ceremony in Han and Yuan Dynasties (1 18 BC), with a history of more than 2 100 years. It is the only city named after "postal service" among cities above the county level in China. As early as13rd century, Kyle Poirot, a world-famous traveler, praised Gaoyou as "a prosperous big city". Gaoyou is an outstanding poet, Qin Guan, a famous poet in the Northern Song Dynasty, Wang Pan, a writer of Sanqu in the Ming Dynasty, Wang Niansun, a modern paleontologist, Zhao Hongji, a cotton expert and sericulture expert, and Wang Zengqi, a famous contemporary writer, are all outstanding talents in Gaoyou.

As early as six or seven thousand years ago, there were ancestors who thrived on this land. Ying Zheng, king of Qin, built a high platform and set up a postal kiosk, hence the name Gaoyou, also known as Qin Post and Yucheng.

When Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty built Gaoyou County, it belonged to Guangling State. From the Northern Song Dynasty to the early Qing Dynasty, Gaoyou Army, Chengzhou, Gaoyou Road, Gaoyou House and Gaoyou House were established, which governed Gaoyou, Xinghua and Baoying counties and became a prosperous place between Yanghuai and Huaihe rivers. During the Qianlong period, it was changed to a scattered state. In the early years of the Republic of China, the state was abolished as a county. After the founding of People's Republic of China (PRC), the border areas of Gaoyou, Baoying and Xinghua have been adjusted many times. 199 1 year, Gaoyou withdrew from the county and set up a city.