After a six-month voyage around the Cape of Good Hope and shipwreck off the China coast, they finally arrived at Chefoo (Yantai) in the middle of winter, 1863.

After several years in Dengzhou (P'eng-lai, or Tengchow), they established a permanent residence at Chefoo and began evangelistic work.

Wide itineration throughout the countryside, rather than concentrated efforts in the cities, was the main feature of the Shandong plan.

Corbett was described as an "Indefatigable Itinerator," and he traveled over the whole province by horse, mule cart, and foot.

He rented a theater and converted the back rooms into a museum stocked with objects of interest from around the world.