Pu Lianggong, like his Arab predecessors, is skilled in the art of incense-making.
Pu, who is currently around 70 years old, grows incense in Quanzhou, a seaside city in the Fujian Province in east China, specifically in Yongchun County.
The Maritime Silk Road, an important route for trade and cultural exchange between China’s southeast coastal regions and other nations, is where the craft of producing incense originated.
Pu is a member of an Arab descent family that migrated to Quanzhou, the old Maritime Silk Road’s starting point, in 1646. They are in their tenth generation. Quanzhou became to be the biggest port in eastern China during the Song (960–1279) and Yuan (1271–1368) dynasties, when China’s maritime trade flourished.
Along the ancient Maritime Silk Road, Pu’s Arab forefathers brought aromatic spices with them. They sold them for a living and eventually assimilated into Quanzhou society by getting married to locals and taking on the Chinese surname Pu.
Unlike the perfumed chips known as “bakhoor” in most Arab nations, the Pu family created incense from bamboo and aromatic materials from their country. It is made of bamboo sticks that have been wrapped with ground aromatic substances, much like a Chinese incense stick.
With the Pu family’s support, Yongchun’s incense business has flourished. There are currently around 300 incense-producing factories there, catering to both local and international consumers.
Workers and their families are living more comfortable lifestyles as a result of the rise in foreign orders; this development is partially attributable to the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).
The proposal, which was put forth by China in 2013, intends to create infrastructure and commercial networks that would link Asia with Europe and other regions via the historic Silk Road trade routes in order to promote prosperity and shared growth.
In addition to providing a forum for intercultural dialogue and understanding, the initiative offers a chance to advance diversity and inclusivity.
To illustrate the value of diversity, Chinese President Xi Jinping once cited the proverbial “delicious soup is prepared by combining different components.”
