The Tankadere's Route: Why Shanghai Was Chosen in "Around the World in Eighty Days"

In Jules Verne's Around the World in Eighty Days, the captain of the Tankadere doesn't actually propose Shanghai as a destination. Rather, Phileas Fogg and his companions choose Shanghai strategically after missing the Yokohama steamer in Hong Kong.

Their reasoning was pragmatic: Shanghai lay southward along their existing trajectory, offered British consular support, and provided regular steamship connections to Yokohama—allowing them to catch the Pacific steamer to San Francisco. The decision reflects Fogg's characteristic precision: calculating the fastest recovery from a schedule disruption rather than following a captain's recommendation.

This episode showcases Verne's attention to actual 1870s shipping routes and the logistical chess game of circumnavigation in the steam age—where missing a single connection could cascade into days of delay.