The event, the first of its kind, is organised by the Pottery Association of Binh Duong Province, once a centre of pottery in the south.

The craft, however, in recent years has been on the decline, according to the association.

The items entered in the contest include the Vietnamese Soul Trophy, Van Lang Jade Bowl, Golden Lotus Trophy, Thang Long National Jar, Heaven and Earth Water Pot and Abstract Jar.

Pairs of Bau Truc jars and Thanh Ha porcelain lamps from Ninh Thuan Province's Bau Truc Village and Quang Nam Province's Thanh Ha Village, respectively, will also be featured.

The Vietnamese Soul Trophy, which is one metre tall with two handles that weigh 3.4kg each, was made with no screws.

Around 120 pottery companies in the province account for up to 80 per cent of the country's pottery export turnover, according to Ly Ngoc Minh, chairman of the association.

"During their heyday, there were more than 500 pottery workshops in the province," he said. "But their number has dwindled through the years due to industrial development and fierce competition."

Nineteen pottery villages and 50 companies will set up stalls on an area of 1,600 sq.m.

Within the festival, interesting pottery items produced by villages across the country will be exhibited and winners in the pottery ideas contest will be announced.