China to South Korea by Weidong Ferry: Weihai to Incheon
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| The New Golden Bridge VII ferry at Weihai, China, before its crossing to Incheon, South Korea. |
There is precious little English-language information online about how to get from China to South Korea by ferry: there are several ferry links, some of which have been mentioned on various English-language travel websites, but no information post-pandemic. For that matter, it seems there's only one company (Weidong Ferry) that has useable information even on the Chinese-language internet. So, here's my experience: I believe this will be the only English-language post-pandemic information on this ferry link on the internet as of publication.
First, the schedule: ferries run Qingdao-Incheon or Weihai-Incheon on alternate days: the ferry runs from Qingdao at 1900 on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, arriving in Incheon at 1100 the following morning. They also run from Weihai at 2100 on Tuesdays, Thursdays or Sundays, arriving at 1000 the next morning. From Weihai, passenger check-in is only open from 1500-1600 as the ferry company spends the intervening time loading the freight while passengers settle into their cabins on the ship. From Qingdao, check-in is 1530-1630. In the opposite direction, check-in at Incheon is 1600-1700 local time for both routes, for crossings timed 1830-0930 to Qingdao or 1900-0800 to Weihai.
As in the last post in this series, I travelled from Beijing to Qingdao and then to Weihai. However, there's a much better direct train that was fully-booked when I travelled: train G1085 runs from Beijing South direct to Weihai 0843-1332. I travelled from Weihai railway station to Weihai International Port by taxi (15 CNY but with a 20 minute queue at the station taxi rank) as I didn't have much spare time, but the direct train arrives with plenty of time to make your way over: bus K4 runs from Qingdaozhong Road (petrol station next to the rail station, 2 CNY), direct to the port passenger terminal in 38 minutes. There are lots more trains between Beijing and Qingdao if you're departing from there.
There's a standard security check on entry into the terminal building, and then you go to the ticket counter to collect your ferry ticket if you've booked online. Before setting off from the UK, it took me ages to figure out how to pre-book tickets online: in theory one can book on the ferry company's website, but no matter what I did I couldn't get it to load properly. I ended up booking through China's ubiquitous WeChat platform (it was 795 CNY (~£90) on a national holiday; looks like it's more usually 465 CNY (~£50) on other days), but this is only available in Chinese so isn't feasible for most. Instead, it's perfectly possible to turn up at the ferry port on the day and buy tickets in the early afternoon for the same night's departure: there were plenty of spare spaces and empty berths even when I travelled on China's National Day. This will be by far the easiest way for foreigners to book tickets. I'd make the same recommendation if travelling on a day when the ferry leaves from Qingdao, although Qingdao is itself one of China's nicest cities and is certainly worth spending some extra time to explore.
Chinese exit formalities are handled in the terminal, with a brief online health declaration and then customs check and immigration exit check. Strangely enough, most of the other foot passengers seemed to be local Chinese traders bringing sacks of agricultural produce with them - I can't imagine they can make that much money just by bringing those over to Incheon.
Once we had all cleared immigration control, a shuttle bus brought all the remaining foot passengers to the ferry: the New Golden Bridge VII. Everyone brings their own luggage with them.
Passengers enter from the side of the ship, then ascend escalators to the passenger lobby and reception area.
On boarding, the reception staff hand passengers their landing forms and health declarations for the arrival formalities in Incheon the following morning. These don't take too long to fill out.
There were plenty of empty berths when I travelled, even on a Chinese national holiday. Many cabins were entirely locked and unused, while my cabin only had one other passenger in the 8-bed room. Each bunk has bedding provided (though you make your own bed) and a reading light, two-pin socket, and privacy curtain. Wi-fi is provided on the ship, though as a Chinese vessel it's subject to the usual restrictions.
The ferry is fairly well-equipped: there's a on-board restaurant and duty-free shop (South Korean Won in cash only), and seating areas with Chinese and South Korean TV shown. There's even a karaoke room, though this was locked (I was on my own so didn't partake, but I'm sure the staff would be happy to unlock it). I had no idea what to expect from the ship and so brought my own food; there are boilers with hot water for making instant noodles or tea.
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| Sunset on the deck at Weihai International Port |
The freight took quite a while to load, but the ship departed exactly on time at 2100. I don't see why they make passengers board so early and then sit around for hours rather than loading the passengers after the freight, but this isn't unusual for international ferries outside Europe. It was a very pleasant, relaxing sunset anyway. Once the ship had started sailing, it was very steady: the geography makes the Yellow Sea generally calm, and the ship is huge. The cheapest cabin was perfectly fine and I slept well.
The next morning, there was plenty of time to have breakfast while the ship approached Incheon on time. It docks at Incheon International Ferry Terminal soon after passing under the impressive Incheon Bridge, and passengers are mustered in the lobby for disembarkation. We were shepherded onto waiting shuttle buses to bring us to the port terminal, where we handed in our documentation and went through immigration control and customs control. Most of the passengers were traders bringing sacks of things like dried fruit with them and so formed a queue at customs with their declarations, but those with only tourist luggage were waved through. The whole process was very efficient.
My next task was to make my way to Seoul. I changed some of my Chinese Yuan for South Korean Won at an exchange in the arrivals part of the terminal, with fairly reasonable rates. Many of the Koreans were picked up by their own relatives, while I took the bus from the terminal to Incheon city centre. I took bus 13 (every 30 minutes, 1300 KRW, cash accepted with change) from the bus stop under the terminal to Juan metro station, taking 45 minutes.
Juan station has express trains on Line 1 to Seoul city centre, taking slightly under an hour. Overall, it was a very pleasant experience travelling from China to South Korea without flying: seeing the hills of the Weidong peninsula when leaving China and then seeing the islands of Incheon Bay - where the 1950 Battle of Incheon changed the course of the Korean War and of the wider Cold War - was very scenic and certainly historically interesting, let alone the fact that I'd seen sunset on the Chinese coast and then sunrise over the islands of South Korea. Travelling overland has that kind of effect: you see so much more than by flying.
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| The National Museum of Korea, Seoul Part of my 2023 Oriental overland adventure: |
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