It looks like Jetstar needs some remedial geography classes. New flights on Jetstar Asia from Singapore to Hangzhou are being advertised by Qantas' Singapore-based low-cost subsidiary as "Hangzhou (Shanghai)".

Do take a second to look the two cities up on a map if you're not enormously familiar with eastern China. 

Business travellers thinking that the flights, which start on 22 March, sound like a cost-saving way to get themselves to Shanghai should think again. Hangzhou is nearly 200 km away from Shanghai. 

Hangzhou (Shanghai) is hardly Melbourne (Avalon) or London (Stansted). More like Melbourne (Shepparton) or Sydney (Bathurst), and with only slightly better ground transport times.

Although Jetstar advertises the high-speed rail links to Shanghai, even the fastest trains take an hour and a half from Shanghai South station to Hangzhou. That's no 431 km/h Shanghai Maglev.

And the hour and a half doesn't include the extra 10 km in Shanghai to get to the centre of town, or the 20 km in Hangzhou to get to the airport. By road, it'll take over two hours between the two cities, without allowing for traffic.

With direct flights from Sydney to Shanghai (the actual Shanghai!) on Air China, China Eastern and Qantas, flying via Singapore to "Hangzhou (Shanghai)" isn't a good way to get to Shanghai. 

If you do want to go to Hangzhou, the capital of economic powerhouse Zhejiang province and one of China's most beautiful cities, Hainan Airlines flies direct from Sydney with a brief stop in Shenzhen.