My name is Deniz Nakip, and I am a Turkman from Kirkuk, Iraq. I am studying Journalism at Ankara University. I was invited to participate in the Looking China 2025 documentary project organized by the People’s Republic of China. Together with directors from different countries, each of us worked on a specific topic during an 18-day documentary-making process. I was honored to be the first person representing my country and Turkmen identity, and I proudly shared this with my foreign friends whenever I had the chance.
I chose to explore incense as my documentary topic, given its historical significance and its wide cultural relevance from East to West.
While researching how to approach this topic in my documentary, I realized that information about incense online was scattered and difficult to access. So I told myself: “I need to bring everything together as a whole—only then can I present my message more clearly.”
We had warm and wonderful moments with Mr. Ling Kun, who hosted us at the Jiulong Agilawood Private Museum and was a guest in our documentary. He took the tradition of incense preservation passed down by his family and combined it with his own vision and adventurous spirit, elevating it to a higher level. During and before the documentary filming, he introduced me to different types of incense and even organized a workshop on how incense sticks are made.
Moreover, I developed a great bond with my producer, Ling Zixun, who helped me in everything—from organizing to translations. We are now friends.
