Heathrow ready to sigh with relief

Can one terminal cure Europe’s biggest -- and most famously snarled -- air hub? Travelers can only hope. Spacious, sleek Terminal 5, opening Thursday at London’s Heathrow Airport, will offer a “smooth, simple and stress-free” experience, says British Airways, which will move 90% of its flights there. Maybe. The terminal’s 30 million annual users will find 60 gates and streamlined security and baggage handling, plus designer stores to pass the time -- which they’ll have plenty of, thanks to new rules. Fliers must be at security checkpoints 35 minutes before departure and allow two hours to connect to other terminals. (In-terminal connections still require one hour.) British Airways spokesman John Lampl expects the new deadlines to be in place for several months while the airline sees “how everything works.”

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-- Jane Engle

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Sew wonderful

If you’re skipping the long journey to Beijing and the Olympics this year, you can at least get a taste of the Asian giant’s culture this summer closer to home. “Power & Glory: Court Arts of China’s Ming Dynasty,” at San Francisco’s Asian Art Museum from June 27 to Sept. 21, will display more than 240 objects -- including jewelry, porcelain, lacquerware and, of course, vases -- from one of China’s most important dynasties, which held power from 1368 to 1644. The objects hail from the Palace Museum in Beijing, the Nanjing Municipal Museum, the Shanghai Museum and the Asian Art Museum’s collection. The one don’t-miss piece? The Dragon Robe (above), found unfinished at Imperial Palace Museum in Beijing. Admission is $12 but free the first Tuesdays of every month. Info: (415) 581-3500 or www.asianart.org.

-- Vani Rangachar

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Big Bear, little bill

Big Bear lodgings aren’t pricey to begin with, but the mountain town recently added to its roster of budget offerings. Actually, the Big Bear Hostel is downright cheap, with rates from $24 a person a night. The hostel, converted from private homes, has 13 dorm-style and private rooms, six bathrooms, two kitchens, an exercise gym and coin-operated laundry facilities. Info: (909) 866-8900, www.bigbear hostel.com.

-- Vani Rangachar

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Best buds

Death Valley National Park is awash in gold, purple, white and yellow wildflowers this month, providing an uncommon spectacle in one of the hottest places on Earth. “What we’ve got now is a really special treat,” says park naturalist Charlie Callagan. He adds that, most years, “it’s too dry for the desert wildflowers, the annuals, that we’re so excited about this year.” A color brochure is sold at the visitor center at Furnace Creek, and rangers conduct several free wildflower walks each week. Info: (760) 786-3200, www.nps.gov/deva.

-- Jay Jones