The fragrance from thousands of burning incense sticks wafts through the narrow facade of the Wing Lee Sandalwood Shop. It is a traditional family business near Yau Ma Tei, Hong Kong. The walls are lined with packets of bright gold and red incense, but treasured in a glass cabinet is the most expensive of all incense – incense.
Hong Kong gets its name from this wood with its pungent, earthy smell. In Cantonese, Hong Kong means “the port of spices “in Cantonese. The smell is a clear reminder that the world’s current financial center was once a colonial trading port that played a key role in the spice trade with the Middle East and even further afield.
At 84 years old, Nguyen Huat has worked at the incense store for more than 70 years. His son, Kenny, now runs the store and has expanded into mainland China, opening new stores in Beijing, Shanghai and Harbin. Even though Ruan Hua is retired, he still visits the store on Shanghai Street where he once worked regularly.
“Incense wood has always been an expensive wood. ” Ruan Hua told me. He recalls when he started working in the business at the age of 13. “In the past, incense was used for medicine and had a very good pain-relieving effect. Now no one uses incense medicinally anymore, it’s used to make incense. “
Sedum trees are usually planted in feng shui areas around villages. The incense wood is formed from the damaged part of the incense tree, which is covered with mold. When the time is ripe, the dark, resinous wood that has been eroded is peeled off from the healthy, yellowish wood that has little smell.
Incense has long been a sought-after spice, known as the “king of incense It is widely traded in the Middle East and Asia. Chinese historical records from the Tang and Song dynasties indicate that it was a highly valued commodity, and its intoxicating scent has historical roots in Buddhism, Taoism, Islam and Christianity.
Nowadays, small pieces of incense are made into fragrant tablets and the market price in 2014 was HK$58,000 per kilogram. Large pieces of incense, several meters high, are hand-carved into sculptures and then sold. There was once a piece of incense carved into the shape of a root and trunk at the Wynn Sandalwood Estate, and the price tag was HK$1.2 million. These are works of art,” said Nguyen Hua. “
Incense is sought after for its use in fragrances. Ebony oil can be extracted from incense, a key ingredient in high-end perfumes such as Armani’s Royal Incense perfume and Saint Laurent’s M7 Absolute Ebony perfume. The price of ebony oil has reached as high as HK$300,000 per kilogram. Because it is so expensive, it is known as “liquid gold “.
But over the past few decades, the huge demand for ebony has led to Hong Kong’s ebony trees teetering on the brink of extinction.
Asian Plantation Capital Corporation (APC), one of the largest commercial incense growers in Asia, is working to save the species by encouraging sustainable incense cultivation in Hong Kong and throughout Asia. They argue that only a few hundred wild incense trees remain in Hong Kong, despite the Hong Kong government’s claim that it has planted about 10,000 of the species every year since 2009.
However, planting only trees does not guarantee the survival of the incense tree, as it takes many years to mature. The currently matured incense trees face more threats from illegal poachers.
“Stealers look for older trees that naturally form incense because they can fetch a higher price, so these trees are in increasing danger of ” said Gerard McGavock, Hong Kong-based sales director for Asia Plantation Capital. “Now in Hong Kong, you’re lucky to find a 30-year-old incense tree. “
While the exact number of surviving wild incense trees is inconclusive, the fact that serious theft is taking place is indisputable.
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