It may be his 88th birthday on Tuesday, but Israeli President Shimon Peres will not be celebrating with a quiet day at home.

Instead, the veteran politician will attend a ceremony marking 110 years since the founding of the Kfar Tavor village in the Galilee.

He will also meet Chinese chief of staff General Chen Bingde to discuss ways to strengthen relations between Israel and China.

In what the Israeli media has termed a "historic" visit, General Bingde is the first Chinese military chief to go to Israel.

Mr Peres, who took on the presidency more than four years ago, has showed no sign of slowing down of late. Last month it emerged that he was conducting secret talks with Palestinian negotiators in the hope of restarting the peace process.

However, it would not be a birthday without a song and some cake. A choir of 100 children will sing Happy Birthday to the president at the Kfar Tavor ceremony, then present him with a cake and some candles to blow out.