Shanghai to simplify marriage registration process

Cross-district marriage registration will be trialled citywide before the end of this year, Shanghai's civil affairs authorities announced on Monday.

At present, local lovebirds who seek to tie the knot cannot select marriage registration centers. Instead, they have to visit the ones in the districts where their Shanghai hukou, or household registration, is based.

In Shanghai, many people's living place and hukou address are not the same, making it inconvenient for their marriage or divorce registration. Also, marriage registration centers in the city vary in their environment and some provide personalized services in issuing certificates.

"We will consider the capacity and facilities of different marriage registration centers and gradually promote the practice based on the trial," Jiang Rui, director of Shanghai Civil Affairs Bureau, told a radio program on Monday.

Meanwhile, the city is in full swing for the launch of a number of senior-related projects to make up for the delay resulting from the COVID-19 resurgence.

Fifty new community-based senior service centers, 200 community-based meal service venues for the elderly, 5,000 extra beds at senior homes and 2,000 renovated beds for seniors with cognitive disorders are on this year's agenda as part of the city's 10 practical deeds.

Under the impact of COVID-19 resurgence, construction was suspended for a while, but the target will remain the same, said Jiang.

So far, more than 2,450 new beds at senior homes have been put in place, and more than 60 community-based meal service venues for the elderly have been built, according to Jiang.

"Although the construction pace is slower than previous years, thanks to the good start of the year construction is still well on track," Jiang said. "We are sparing no effort to catch up on the schedule because senior care is a priority project for the public in Shanghai."

Based on the city's blueprint, beds for elderly citizens at senior homes will amount to 178,000 by the end of 2025, an increase of 20,000 from the end of 2020. Most of the extra beds will be in the five "new cities" and some suburban districts.

By the end of 2035, the figure will grow to 210,000, satisfying the demand of 3 percent of the city's permanent elderly population. Among these beds, 80 percent will include nursing functions.

Shanghai is among the fastest aging cities in China. Residents over 60 comprised more than 36 percent of the permanent population as of the end of last year, hitting 5.34 million.

It's estimated that about 300,000 people in the city suffer from dementia, a figure projected to increase.