All aromatic ingredients are ground into a fine powder to ensure even burning and a smooth texture. They are then rolled into a dough-like consistency. After drying the uneven ends are trimmed, and the sticks are smoothed. [Photo provided to China Daily]

New generation turns to scents, traditional rituals to relieve pressures of modern life

Incense-maker Weng Jianzhi had a fascination with herbs from a young age, sparked by a colorful herb-identification publication he found at a local bookstore. Growing up, he spent hours exploring the hillsides near his home in Zhoushan, Zhejiang province, learning to recognize various plants and herbs, a curiosity that would later shape his life and career.

His father's quiet workshop, with its lingering scents and dedication to incense-making, was another influence, even if Weng didn't realize it at the time. "It was like a seed planted in my mind," he recalled, "watching my father making incense for religious rituals."

Today, 32-year-old Weng is working to bring back the ancient craft of hexiang — the harmonious blending of different herbal aromas to create scents that have curative qualities.

"My father's incense was simple, mostly for temples. But as I read more, I realized that Chinese incense was once an art and a wellness practice — one based on hexiang and rooted in traditional Chinese medicine," he explained.

A growing number of Chinese youth are being drawn to the meditative, spiritual and healing aspects of Chinese incense, which they see as an antidote to the fast pace of modern life.

Incense stick sales on e-commerce platform Tmall have surged 40-fold over the past year, with year-on-year growth exceeding 500 percent in April and May, according to a report released in July by Moojing Market Intelligence.

Yuan Dian, 29, has worked in a high-pressure job as a project manager for an internet company in Beijing for five years. During this year's Spring Festival she returned home to Wuhan, Hubei province, where she had a reunion with her childhood friends.

One of her friends, who has a busy life in Shanghai, advised her to burn Chinese incense with medicinal properties to improve blood circulation, calm the mind, and improve sleep. After trying it a few times, Yuan quickly fell in love with the ritual.

"Watching the thin spirals of smoke rise, and the ash delicately fall around the incense burner, I find a profound beauty," she said, adding that burning Chinese incense gives her a unique sense of tranquillity with a "certain healing quality".