The White Swan Hotel () is a 28-story luxury hotel in

Guangzhou Guangzhou (, ; ; or ; ), also known as Canton () and alternatively romanized as Kwongchow or Kwangchow, is the capital and largest city of Guangdong province in southern China. Located on the Pearl River about north-northwest of Hong Kon ...

, Guangdong, China, located on

Shamian Island Shamian (also romanized as Shameen or Shamin, both from its Cantonese pronunciation) is a sandbank island in the Liwan District of Guangzhou, Guangdong, China. The island's name literally means "sandy surface" in Chinese. The territory ...

, overlooking the

Pearl River The Pearl River, also known by its Chinese name Zhujiang or Zhu Jiang in Mandarin pinyin or Chu Kiang and formerly often known as the , is an extensive river system in southern China. The name "Pearl River" is also often used as a catch-all ...

and facing the White Swan Pool. The hotel is reached by its own private causeway.

History

The hotel opened on February6, 1983. It was built by

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...

businessman

Fok Ying-tung Henry Fok Ying Tung (10 May 1923 – 28 October 2006) was a Hong Kong businessman. He has Ancestral home (China), ancestral roots in Lianxi Village, Panyu, now part of Guangzhou, Guangdong. Fok was the vice-chairman of the National Committee o ...

. Located on the Cantonese equivalent of

Dejima , in the 17th century also called Tsukishima ( 築島, "built island"), was an artificial island off Nagasaki, Japan that served as a trading post for the Portuguese (1570–1639) and subsequently the Dutch (1641–1854). For 220 years, it ...

of pearl-rich Nagasaki in Japan (Exit Island in Japanese), the Hotel`s surroundings are rich in history of the Merchant houses incorporated in the Nations of the "

Great Powers A great power is a sovereign state that is recognized as having the ability and expertise to exert its influence on a global scale. Great powers characteristically possess military and economic strength, as well as diplomatic and soft power in ...

" and Holland; often attributed to have been the greatest force of modernisation in East-Asia. The colonial-era buildings are within easy walking-distance, and are a quaint reminder of Guangzou`s historical multiculturalism. The hotel was built by Fok Ying-tung on Shamian Island for political reasons, and the hotel soon after hosted

Hu Yaobang Hu Yaobang (; 20 November 1915 – 15 April 1989) was a high-ranking official of the People's Republic of China. He held the top office of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) from 1981 to 1987, first as Chairman from 1981 to 1982, then as Genera ...

Zhao Ziyang Zhao Ziyang ( zh, 赵紫阳; pronounced , 17 October 1919 – 17 January 2005) was a Chinese politician. He was the third premier of the People's Republic of China from 1980 to 1987, vice chairman of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) from 198 ...

and

Deng Xiaoping Deng Xiaoping (22 August 1904 – 19 February 1997) was a Chinese revolutionary leader, military commander and statesman who served as the paramount leader of the People's Republic of China (PRC) from December 1978 to November 1989. After CC ...

In the early 2000s, after 20 years of private operations, the hotel was handed out to the Chinese government. The hotel now belongs to The

Ministry of Land and Resources The Ministry of Land and Resources (MLR) of the People's Republic of China is a dissolved ministry under the jurisdiction of the State Council of China. It was formally responsible for the regulation, management, preservation and exploitation o ...

of People's Republic of China. The hotel closed down for renovations during three years and reopened in July 2015, on the 15th.

Description

The hotel has 520 rooms and suites. The White Swan's Jade River Restaurant, with its garden decor, is noted for its

Cantonese cuisine Cantonese or Guangdong cuisine, also known as Yue cuisine ( or ) is the cuisine of Guangdong province of China, particularly the provincial capital Guangzhou, and the surrounding regions in the Pearl River Delta including Hong Kong and Maca ...

. Many

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

families who adopt children from China stay at the White Swan while in Guangzhou awaiting visa paperwork. A children's story book is based on this.

Famous guests

The Guangzhou White Swan Hotel has received over 40 heads of state and government, including : *Dear Leader

Kim Jong Il Kim Jong-il (; ; ; born Yuri Irsenovich Kim;, 16 February 1941 – 17 December 2011) was a North Korean politician who was the second supreme leader of North Korea from 1994 to 2011. He led North Korea from the 1994 death of his father Kim ...

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. She was queen ...

* President

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...

* Chancellor

Helmut Kohl Helmut Josef Michael Kohl (; 3 April 1930 – 16 June 2017) was a German politician who served as Chancellor of Germany from 1982 to 1998 and Leader of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) from 1973 to 1998. Kohl's 16-year tenure is the longes ...

Awards

* Member of "The Leading Hotels of the World" (1985) * 5 stars by the Chinese Government in February 1990 * "China's 50 best hotels" in 1996 * "China's best well-known hotel" in 2008.

References

External links

Official hotel site
{{The Leading Hotels of the World, Asia Hotels in Guangzhou Liwan District Hotel buildings completed in 1983 Hotels established in 1983 Chinese companies established in 1983