 On 24 November 1932 , Le Petit Vingtième published a fictional interview between Jamin and Tintin in which the reporter announced that he would be travelling to China via Egypt , India , Ceylon , and Indochina . On 8 December 1932 , the story began serialisation in the supplement under the title of The Adventures of Tintin , Reporter , in the Orient . As the story began in Egypt rather than China , Hergé briefly renamed the story to The Cairo Affair . The story was not following any plan or pre @-@ written plot , with Hergé as usual devising the story on a week @-@ by @-@ week basis . When the time came to assemble and publish the story in book form , Hergé decided to divide it into two volumes and to give them each a new title ; the first half , which is set in Egypt , Arabia , and India , he titled Cigars of the Pharaoh , while the second half , set in China , became The Blue Lotus . Cigars was the first of the Adventures published by Casterman , with whom Hergé had signed a contract in late 1933 , although much to his annoyance , they delayed publication until the autumn of 1934 , after the culmination of the summer holidays . In 1936 , they successfully requested that he produce several colour plates to be inserted into the reprint of the book . 
