International cargo and passenger shipping from east China's Shandong Province to South Korea resumed on Friday following nearly 1,300 days of hiatus due to the pandemic.
The "New Grand Peace" cargo-passenger vessel sailing under the flag of Panama set off on Friday night from Weihai City's Xingang Wharf and sailed to Pyeongtaek City of South Korea.
At the frontier entry-exit inspection station of Weihai Port, a total of 55 passengers were whisked through the required formalities under the guidance of frontier police shortly before the departure of the passenger ship.
The "New Grand Peace" liner is the first of its kind to resume service in Shandong after Chinese authorities virtually lifted the COVID-19 pandemic travel restrictions in late 2022. After the resumption of normal shipping service, the ship will depart from Weihai every Monday, Wednesday and Friday.
Border inspection authorities have set up a task force to answer travelers' questions to facilitate their border crossings.
"We offer scrolling LED display of bilingual border check guide at the inspection hall, catering for outbound passengers, and deployed 15 highly qualified police officers to answer passenger inquiries," said Bi Jianbo, border inspection officer on duty at Weihai checkpoint.
"The border inspection procedure took only about one minute. It's very fast. [The ship] will set off at around 20:00 and arrive in South Korea at around 9:00 in the morning tomorrow. It is economical and affordable for us to go to South Korea by boat. It's so convenient," said Wang Hairun, a passenger.
More sea travel routes from the six ports in Shandong including Qingdao, Weihai and Rizhao to South Korea is expected to resume regular operations in the next six months, as outbound tourist travels from China are in sharp resurgence in a post-pandemic era.
Source: CCTV
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