The ferry was originally scheduled to arrive at 7PM in China, but I didn’t get off the ship until after 11PM. After no questions asked, I was let into the country. It is always funny that you get questioned more at countries like Korea where you think the US has a stronger relationship over countries like China.
I was going to worry about arriving in the middle of the night to this small port city, but my roommate said he would help me out. His Chinese step-sister would be picking him up at the terminal. But then he talked to another Korean guy who is staying in Tianjin with a hotel room already booked and the room has two beds, one empty. He offered to take me along, which I said was great and would take the stress out of the situation. The ferry arrived at a the port of Tanggu, and then I spent some time in a Taxi to the main city of Tianjin. So I spent the night at a Korean run 3-star hotel, Spa Plaza Hotel Tianjin. I have to thank these Koreans for being so helpful (even in China). I didn’t get to sleep until 2AM or so, but I did find they have an Ethernet jack so I can use the Internet connection.