Liaobu Town

Hidden within the bustling energy of Dongguan, Liaobu Town whispers tales of fragrant history. Liaobu Town isn’t just another town in the Pearl River Delta. It’s the “Home of Agarwood in China,” a title bestowed upon it in 2013. Imagine the air thick with the rich, intoxicating scent of agarwood. Liaobu’s connection to this precious resin stretches back centuries, to the Ming and Qing dynasties when its incense market thrived as one of Guangdong’s top four. This legacy continues today. In 2014, the “Liaobu Incense Market” earned recognition as a national intangible cultural heritage. Liaobu Town houses the Museum of Agarwood Culture of China, a stunning architectural marvel designed by He Jingtang, the mastermind behind the China Pavilion at the Shanghai EXPO. The museum’s design evokes an ancient “incense box,” once used to safeguard royal agarwood tributes. The museum’s treasures include the Grand Iron-casting Incense Burner, bearing an inscription from the Qianlong Emperor himself, and “China’s No. 1 Agarwood,” a 9100-gram piece of fragrant history. Liaobu Town, covering 87.5 square kilometers, is more than just agarwood. With a population nearing half a million, it’s a vibrant community woven into the fabric of Dongguan. A visit to Liaobu Town is a journey through time. It’s a sensory experience, a fragrant immersion into Chinese tradition, and a testament to the enduring legacy of agarwood.