​Top of my bucket list was always to cuddle a panda, so when planning a holiday for a special birthday, naturally it had to be Chengdu in China! 90% of the world’s pandas are born in Sichuan province and I had booked to visit the world’s biggest panda breeding and research centre – thrill level 10/10!
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On the morning of my special day, I tried to keep my excitement in check when arriving at the Giant Panda Breeding Research Base - but it wasn't easy!

The Great Wall of China – one of the world’s most iconic man-made structures has a historical story full of fascinating statistics. At 8851.8km (5,500 miles) long it isn’t actually one continuous wall, but a series of different sections built by six different dynasties. Construction started in 770BC and the final sections were finished in 1644 making it around 2,300 years old. The most recognisable and best preserved section is the one built last by the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) which was started around 1474 so in truth, the part that we are most familiar with is only around 540 years old – a baby in terms of how old the rest of it is!