GUANGZHOU, April 23 (Xinhua) -- Six Australian koalas will be flown by a charter plane to the Xiangjiang Safari Park in Guangzhou, capital of South China's Guangdong Province, Thursday.

    Donated by the Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary in Queensland, Australia, the six koalas will be able to meet tourists after undergoing quarantine tests, said a spokesman with the safari park.

    The donation is part of the global koala protection plan agreedupon by Australia and China and the Guangzhou-based safari park has been chosen by the Australian government as a new ideal habitat of the cuddly koalas for its climatic environment, supply of fodders and technical support.

    For food, the park has designated 13.3 ha of land where some 40,000 eucalyptus trees were planted three years ago.

    A special panel of experts sent by the safari park have alreadybeen in Australia. They will select six out of 10 koala candidatesnow placed in isolation, said the spokesman.

    The Xiangjiang Safari Park, which opened to the public eight years ago, keeps over 20,000 of wildlife in 460 species, and has so far hosted 12 million tourists. Enditem