Traffic
The number of vehicles in China is rapidly increasing. Please keep in mind that major events or holidays and new construction projects create traffic that can interfere with your tour and meal times. Your National Escort/Local Guides will do their best to avoid possible delays, changes or in rare cases, cancellations to sections of your itinerary.
Seatbelts
It is recommended that where seat belts are available in any destination, customers must use them and remain seated at all times whilst the vehicle is moving.
Domestic flights
The flight schedule of domestic airlines in this region changes frequently, hence all domestic flights that appear in your itinerary are always subject to change. Please ensure that all valuables and any medication you may need for the rest of the day are taken on board with you. The luggage limit is 15-20kg per passenger, depending on the airline, and all seats are economy class. Airlines currently do not allow liquids (alcohol, spirits, wine, water, perfume, etc.) or sharp objects to be carried on-board the aircraft and these will be confiscated. Wendy Wu Tours issues all internal domestic flight tickets locally and these will be handled by your National Escort/Local Guide and given to each passenger just prior to their flight.
Coaches
Our coaches are comfortable, air-conditioned vehicles. Please note – in many parts of the world, seatbelts are not compulsory by law and local people largely choose not to wear them. Wendy Wu Tours cannot guarantee that vehicles will be fitted with operable seatbelts. Where available we recommend seat belts should be worn at all times while travelling. Some places we travel to, such as parts of Sichuan Province, Yunnan, and Mongolia, are quite remote. The coaches used in these areas may not be the latest models but are the best available in these areas.
Overnight trains
All travel will be on first class ‘soft sleeper’ trains, which are the best available in China. Each compartment is shared by four people and is airconditioned, with lockable doors and fixed beds.
Your National Escort/Local Guides will try to organise the whole group to be sleeping in the same carriage but in busy periods of travel this may not be possible. There is usually a western style toilet at one end and a squat toilet at the other end of the carriage. Hot drinking water is also available on the carriage.
We recommend you bring a small overnight bag to carry whatever you need until the following morning as you will not have access to your main luggage which will be stored in a separate carriage of the train. There is no dining car, so please carry snacks with you.
Keeping valuables safe on the train - Carry all valuables with you at all times.
Day trains
A second class soft seat is booked for the day train journeys including bullet trains and high speed trains. There is limited space for storing luggage and while our guides are there to assist, you will need to load and unload your own luggage on and off the train. Day trains only stop for several minutes at each stop, so you must be ready to leave the train when your guide instructs.
Yangtze River Cruise
If your tour includes a Yangtze River Cruise, please allow flexibility as large passenger numbers and the river's rapid flow in the narrowness of the gorges means that timetables are subject to change by the government’s Yangtze River Authority (YRA). Your National Escort/Local Guide will explain any such changes to you as soon as they are informed by the cruise operator.
The cruise ships themselves have comfortable, western facilities. All cabins are on a standard twin bed basis and are equipped with air conditioning, private western facilities, television and telephone. However, there are no coffee shops or swimming pools on any of the ships.