Children in Shanghai who fail to visit their elderly parent often enough could find their credit rating suffers as result, China Daily reported on Friday.
A new law set to come into force on May 1 gives parents the right to file a lawsuit if their offspring don't visit them often enough.
The child could then be forced by a court order to visit their parent more often; a failure to comply with the order will be recorded in their credit report, which affects their ability to take on any kind of loans or debt.
There are 4.36 million people aged over 60 in Shanghai, a number which is expected to increase to more than 5.4 million by 2020, China Daily reported.
The new law is aimed at better protecting the rights and interests of senior citizens, and also makes a requirement for children whose parents are in nursing homes to regularly visit them.
