There was an earthquake in Sichuan Province on Monday 12 May - none of our Tours was in the area, and none are affected. Later departures are scheduled to visit Chengdu, the Provincial Capital, and we are monitoring events with our Local Agent. If necessary some minor amendments may be made to the planned itinerary, which will be confirmed locally.

Although Heathrow and a few Regional airports are lifting the "1 Bag Rule" for cabin baggage from 07 January, you will still only be allowed one small item of hand baggage at all other UK airports. Even if the Airport allows 2 pieces, some airlines are sticking with the "one small item of hand baggage" rules that have been in place for some time, and even where the airline permits any additional hand baggage, there may be charges for this. In your hand baggage, only small quantities (100ml) of "liquid" may be taken through Airport Security & into the aircraft cabin. This covers gel/paste/lotion/cream/perfume/drinks/foam etc.- and if you must take anything like this, the containers must be placed in a clear re-sealable plastic bag, 20cmx20cm (like a sandwich bag). Anything else will be confiscated. Detailed advice is available on the DfT Website - http://www.dft.gov.uk/ including specific information about the way that hand baggage should be presented for scanning. Our advice is that you continue to travel very light, as security checks are still thorough, so the less you carry, the less there is to check, and the quicker you can be processed through the airport.