A special sports, culture and tourism festival featuring members of the Cham ethnic group is underway in the central province of Ninh Thuan. 

The three-day festival, kicked off on October 14, is taking place at the same time as the group's traditional Kate festival. 

Various cultural activities like art shows, traditional costume shows, brocade weaving contests, a culinary fair and sports competitions will be organised in the province.

A conference on preserving and developing Cham ethnic culture in parallel with promoting tourism will be the key activity at the event, which will gather both scientists and cultural workers. 

The event is expected to attract Cham people from nine localities including Binh Thuan, Phu Yen, An Giang, Tay Ninh, HCM City and Dong Nai. 

The localities will take turns hosting the event, which will be held every three years. 

According to statistics from 2008, the Cham group was ranked 14th in population size when compared to all 54 ethnic groups in the country, with 145,000 members.