Pu Lianggong knows the art of incense-making, just like his Arab ancestors.
Now nearly 70 years old, Pu produces incense in Yongchun County in Quanzhou, a coastal city in east China's Fujian Province.
The incense-making craft has its roots in the ancient Maritime Silk Road, which served as a vital conduit for both trade and cultural exchange between China's southeastern coastal regions and foreign countries.
Pu belongs to a 10th-generation family of Arab descent who settled in Quanzhou, known as the starting point of the ancient Maritime Silk Road, in 1646. As China's seaborne trade thrived during Song (960-1279) and Yuan (1271-1368) dynasties, Quanzhou became the largest port in eastern China.
Pu's Arab ancestors brought aromatic ingredients with them along the ancient Maritime Silk Road, made a living by selling them and gradually integrated into life in Quanzhou, marrying locals and adopting the Chinese surname Pu.
The Pu family made incense with bamboo and aromatic ingredients from their homeland, which is different from the scented chips called "bakhoor" in most Arab countries. It is similar to a Chinese incense stick, with bamboo sticks wrapped in ground aromatic ingredients.
Boosted by the Pu family's influence, incense has become a thriving industry in Yongchun. At present, there are nearly 300 incense-producing factories there, selling products to both domestic and foreign markets.
Thanks to the increase in international orders, workers and their families are enjoying more comfortable lives, an improvement partly driven by the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).
Proposed by China in 2013, the initiative aims to build trade and infrastructure networks connecting Asia with Europe and beyond along the ancient Silk Road trade routes for common development and prosperity.
Serving as a platform to foster cross-cultural exchange and mutual understanding as well, the initiative presents an opportunity to promote diversity and inclusivity.
Chinese President Xi Jinping once quoted an ancient Chinese saying, "Delicious soup is made by combining different ingredients," to explain the importance of diversity.
A shared future for mankind
"Delicious soup is made by combining different ingredients."

Source prnewswire