Hi Joan and welcome!
Like Bob, I did the China trip in 2014 (a month later than him) and agree with him that you will have a super, if exhausting, time.
This tour is very much a 'cultural experience' and, without being sexist to Bob, I should point out that, for ladies, it offers one or two extra challenges in relation to....shall we say...the 'facilities'... These fall into two categories 'squats' (most common) and 'potties' (if you are lucky) In the hotels everything is superb but when you are out and about, I would definitely recommend taking plenty of wet wipes, tissues and a travel pack of loo paper. The ladies in my group developed an 'out of 10' review system at each site. On the plus side - the Chengdu Panda Research Centre scored 11 out of 10 (heated seats with a massage function - I kid you not!!) but, at the other end of the scale were the facilities at the temple above the Leshan Giant Budda's head. I won't go into detail but they would score minus 27 on a good day.....
Please don't let the above put you off, however, as it was all part of the 'cultural experience' and became a running joke with the ladies of the group (the lads couldn't understand what the fuss was about...).
In terms of other tips, in addition to those in Bob's super review, I would suggest taking throat sweets and cold treatments, and if you suffer from asthma, take additional inhalers. The air pollution can sometimes be very bad and all of my group went down with coughs and colds (although Bob had much clearer skies). Also pack an extra sweater because, when the pollution levels are high, it can be bitterly cold.
Sadly, I've heard that they no longer offer the 'Panda Keeper Experience' in Chengdu (a.k.a 'Panda Hugging 😃 ) which was the highlight of my trip but you will still get to see plenty of these beautiful animals. The Great Wall and the Terracotta Warriors are also thrilling and the people are very very friendly. You will get used to being asked if they can have a photo of you - it will happen all the time, especially if you are blonde!)
Like Bob, I'm happy to help if you have any other questions
All the best
Mandy