The municipal government expects to complete its first city-wide "marriage certificate network system" this year to help couples who have lost marriage certificates.
A survey published in Shanghai Evening Post last week showed that nearly 30 percent of couples married for more than 30 years cannot find their marriage certificates.
"The system, once open, will not only tell users about their marriage information but tell them how and where to reapply for a new one," Wang Wei, an official of the science and education department of Shanghai Archives, said yesterday.
A computer program will be created for the system. Users for the system have to show their ID cards or other recognized identification.
Officials of the Shanghai Archives started preparations for the system early last year and are busy collecting marital information from locals in the city's 18 districts and Chongming Island.
According to Wang, marital records were kept at the archives department or the civil affairs bureau in each district. However, since more and more people move to other districts or abroad, they are confused about where to re-apply for a replacement marriage certificate. The new system will help centralize the process.
Huang Xuanpei, a 70-year-old resident who is an archaeologist with the city's cultural relics committee, said: "I lost my marriage certificate years ago and I don't know where to go because the names and areas of districts were very different from nowadays."