For months before when discussing our trip, for Joanna China was just one word: Pandas! So a trip to the Chengdu Panda Breeding research centre was a must. It really was special to see them sleeping in the most bizarre positions up trees, eating bamboo shoots and rolling around in their enclosures. A nice treat as well to view some babies. We had booked a visit there as part of a wider day tour of Chengdu through the agency who were organising our transport – on reflection that was unnecessary, we could have done it on our own. That said we learnt a lot from our very nice and knowledgeable guide and enjoyed our final stop at a traditional tea house.

The other ‘must do’ in Chengdu which is in the Sichuan province was to try the food: there are 24 flavours in Sichuan cuisine, but I’m not sure you can distinguish between them after a mouthful of hotpot! The most intense foodie experience of them all but wonderfully rewarding, once you worked out how to lessen the fire by creating a nice mix on your plate of oil and salad. The girls had a soup to dip which was pepper free!

We liked the city of Chengdu, both enjoying morning runs along the river embankment. We spent a few hours in the Chengdu Museum, which gave us a good background on Chinese history as well as interesting displays dedicated to puppetry.