ZHENGZHOU - A total of 681 Australian alpacas have arrived in Zhengzhou, the capital city of Central China's Henan province, on a chartered flight from Melbourne, Australia.

It is the province's first time to import Australian alpacas, according to the local customs.

The alpacas, 54 males and 627 females, will be sent to the city of Xinzheng for quarantine.

The alpacas that pass a health test will be distributed to a farm in north China's Shanxi Province for breeding.

Alpacas are one of the major domestic animals of South America. Because the animal reproduces slowly, countries often impose export restrictions on the species.

In the 1980s, Australia introduced the alpacas to improve its breedings and fiber quality.

Henan has received about 68,000 imported animals since January 2016, including giraffes, zebras, lions, tigers, leopards and elephants.