Honouring the ancestors
In Aberdeen Harbour where many goods where shipped, it always smelled of incense - hence the former name Heung Gong Tsai (small fragrant harbour), which later became Hong Kong. Among the first merchandise were salt, pearls from the Pearl River, and incense – the pillar of the emerging trade.
Today incense is sold in many places, but on Queen’s Road West you’ll find a collection of shops selling joss sticks and everything necessary for the proper care of one’s ancestors.
Info
Address Queen’s Road West (the section between Li Sing Street and Hollywood Street), Sheung Wan | Public Transport MTR Island Line (blue), Sai Ying Pun Station, Exit A1; Bus stops Eastern Street, Queen’s Road West and Sutherland Street, Queen’s Road West | Tip Funeral parlours in Hong Kong are usually multistorey buildings, nicknamed “grand hotel” by the locals. Free of prejudice, they conduct funeral ceremonies for diverse religions at the same time, on different floors under the same roof.
A gweilo (westerner) might initially be a bit confused at the sight of all those paper models of miniature cars, chairs, watches, mobile phones, and even paper dentures, until you realise that they are offerings for cherished ancestors. Gucci even once sent out copyright warnings to two funeral stores selling handbags and shoes with the Gucci logo … made of paper. After angry exchanges on the internet the company relented.
Incense was formerly made of valuable agarwood. For centuries it was collected in the New Territories and exported via Aberdeen. Today there is only one agarwood plantation left in Shing Ping Village, and a few trees in private gardens. Especially valuable is the resin produced by the tree to close infected trunk wounds. On the black market it achieves higher prices than gold - a gram of resin can fetch up to HK$10,000 - as it is an important remedy in traditional Chinese medicine and has become a collectors’ item.
Meanwhile, more and more mainland gangs come to Hong Kong and boldly invade gardens, cut down agarwood trees, and take them away. Although the illegal cutting of agarwood trees is punishable by up to 10 years’ imprisonment and a HK$100,000 fine, the thieves are often unafraid of both the owners and the police.
However, the joss sticks you can buy at Queen’s Road West or the like are sticks covered with a paste of resin, ground wood, and herbs.
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