How can my marriage certificate be recognized by China's department without going back to America?

Hi, everyone. I need to give you a little background information about myself before the question makes sense. I'm an American and I married my Chinese wife in America. We moved to China and I have been working here for a year. I want to get a residency permit that I can renew annually, but I have run into some red tape. China doesn't recognize my marriage license, and they want me to go back to the state of New Jersey (where I was married) and get my license notarized, then go to the Chinese Consulate in New York City to get another notarization, and THEN they will accept my marriage license here in China. Is there a way to avoid all of this?