The two-part movie, which stars Zhang Ziyi ('Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon'), centres around three couples caught up in the 1949 sinking of the Taiping steamer, reported Deadline.
The ship was crammed well over capacity with refugees fleeing China to Taiwan after the Civil War, leading to over 1,500 deaths after it collided with a cargo boat.
Song Hye-kyo, Takeshi Kaneshiro, Huang Xiaoming, Bowie Lam, Tong Dawei and Masami Nagasawa also star in the film.
'The Crossing Part 1' will be released in China on December 2, with Part 2 following on Chinese New Year 2015.