People take part in fierce bidding at a charity auction for swords and celadon ceramics pieces made in Longquan. [Photo/WeChat account: lqnews_wx]

A charity auction for handcrafted swords and famed celadon ceramics works made in Longquan city was held on July 13 in Lishui, in East China's Zhejiang province.

The auction attracted 300 bidders, including those contributing to charity, as well as avid sword and celadon collectors.

The most expensive celadon piece sold for 100,000 yuan ($15,460), while the highest price for a sword was 80,000 yuan and the auction raised 1.14 million yuan.

The works exhibited and auctioned were donated by the sword and celadon craftsmen of Longquan. Funds raised in the auction will go to special funds for charity work and public service.

"My first purchase was a celadon piece named Treasure Fills the Home and I am quite satisfied with both its meaning and the craft itself," said bidder, Zhang Yi. Zhang took part in the auction not only for the love of Longquan swords and celadons, but also to make a contribution to the public.

In recent years, Longquan – a county-level city administered by the prefecture-level city of Lishui – has fully leveraged its renown as a center for handcrafted swords and celadon ceramics, in order to support charity.

To date, four other such charity auctions have been held in the cities of Hangzhou in Zhejiang province, Dongguan in Guangdong province, Xiamen in Fujian province and in Guangyuan in Sichuan province.