明光市原為嘉山縣，漢代始置縣，為盱眙、淮陵二縣地，屬臨淮郡。
Mingguang City, originally named as Jiashan County. It has been set as a county at Han dynasty. With Xuyu, Huailing counties, and belongs to Linhuai Prefecture.

　　南朝時(shí)，宋僑置睢陵縣。北魏改睢陵為濟陽(yáng)，北齊改為池南縣，南陳復名睢陵縣，北周初改為招義縣，后又改為化明縣，屬鐘離郡。
At Southern Song dynasty, Song Qiao set it Zhuiling County. Zhuiling renamed as Jiyang at Northern Wei dynasty, and Chinan County at Northern Qi, Zhuiling County at Southern Chen dynast, Zhaoyi County at the beginning of Northern Zhou dynasty, then, renamed as Huaming County, belonged to Li Prefecture.

　　唐朝時(shí)復名招義，屬濠州，宋朝改為招信縣，元朝并招信縣入盱眙，明朝屬鳳陽(yáng)府，清朝直隸泗州。
At Tang Dynast, it renamed Zhaoyi, belong to Haozhou Prefecture, then, Zhaoxin County at Song Dynasty. At Ming Dynasty, it merged into Xuyu, belonged to Fengyang at Ming Dynasty, belonged to Sizhou Prefecture at Qing Dynasty.

　　據《泗州志》記："明光山，集主之山也，明太祖生時(shí)有光灼天，因賜名。"可知明光得名已有六百余年歷史。
According to Sizhou Records, Mingguang mountain is where mountains gathered around, when Ming Tai Zu born, there were lights reaching sky high, so, it named as Mingguang Mountain. So, we can know that there are 600 years for Mingguang.

　　民國二十一年（1932年）十一月，劃盱眙南17個(gè)保、滁縣北6個(gè)保、定遠東6個(gè)保、來(lái)安西3個(gè)保，合并新置嘉山縣，縣治三界鎮（老三界）。
November, 1932, the government set Jiashan County with 17 Bao (administrative system in old times of China) of south part of Xuyu, 6 Bao of north of Tu County, 6 Bao of east of Dingyuan, 3 Bao of west of Anxi, Jiashan County governed Sanjie Town.

　　1940年，嘉山縣抗日民主政府成立，縣政府設在自來(lái)橋鎮，原海峽兩岸關(guān)系協(xié)會(huì )會(huì )長(cháng)的汪道涵同志即為嘉山縣抗日民主政府首任縣長(cháng)。
1940, the democracy government of anti-Japan of Jiashan County founded, and the head of county sets at Zilaiqiao Town, Wang Daohan, original-chairman of Straits relationship association, as the first magistrate .

　　1994年5月31日，經(jīng)國務(wù)院批準撤縣設市。
May 31, 1994, Mingguang County renamed Mingguang City according to the permit of the State Council

　　1997年成為對外開(kāi)放城市
1997, Mingguang City becomes a open city of China.

　　明光市位于安徽省東北部邊緣，居江淮分水嶺北側，地處東經(jīng)117°至119°，北緯32°至34°之間。與滁州市南譙區接壤；北臨淮河，與五河縣接壤；東與江蘇省盱眙、泗洪等縣相鄰；西鄰定遠、鳳陽(yáng)兩縣。