A crossing on board a ‘placeless place’ from China to South Korea
Most visitors arrive by air, but our writer took a route connected with a gruesome tale – although this ferry trip proved to be less eventful
I wonder what I’m doing as I scout the perimeter of Shidao Port, in Shandong province. Several rusty hulls can be seen inside the shipyard; none look remotely seaworthy.
As I glance out towards the Yellow Sea, all I can see is compact fog – it does not look inviting. Yet here I am, looking to secure a spot on the next boat out of a port associated with one of China’s most macabre maritime episodes.
Flying into South Korea is the easy option; I was enticed by the prospect of travelling by sea and arriving “sideways”, instead of from above. And perhaps a ferry would offer insights into the human experience. French philosopher Michel Foucault referred to a ship as “a piece of floating space, a placeless place”. Who wouldn’t want to arrive somewhere aboard a placeless place?
Several operators ply routes between northeast China and South Korea’s Incheon Port, but finding detailed schedules, even in Chinese, is not easy. These lines cater mostly to freight traffic and tend not to advertise passenger fares.•
After scouring WeChat and making calls to obscure shipping companies, I found ferries from ports in Tianjin, Dalian and Qingdao, but I settled on Shidao, on the eastern tip of the Shandong peninsula, about 200 nautical miles from Incheon. The company offers a Thursday night sailing, which suited my itinerary.
Getting to Shidao – a town with a north-facing harbour side of run-down wharves and warehouses and a south-facing resort side popular with weekenders from nearby Weihai – had required a 12-hour train journey from Shenzhen.
After spending a night at the Shidao Hotel – a state-owned establishment with a marble facade and staff who seem to have been instructed to refrain from smiling – I walk to the northern side of town, to the ticket office (there are no online sales), and book a berth in a four-bed cabin. The vendor tells me to return by 2.30pm for immigration processing; “If you show up any later, you can’t go.”
