This hotel has not only received a Queen and King, but has also witnessed...

On October 18, 1986, Queen Elizabeth II visited Guangzhou and attended a reception banquet at the White Swan Hotel, where she was served authentic Cantonese dishes. For more than three decades, the White Swan Hotel has received many different heads of state and politicians, including the former US president Richard Nixon, the German Chancellor Helmut Kohl, and the King of Sweden Carl XVI Gustaf.

Queen Elizabeth II attends a reception banquet at the White Swan Hotel in 1986. [Photo/White Swan Hotel]

In fact, what perhaps makes the White Swan Hotel even more renowned and an indispensable part of China’s hotel industry is that the construction and development of the hotel itself serves as one of the most direct examples of China’s reform and opening up.

Pioneer of the five-star hotel in China

In the 1970s, more and more foreigners swarmed to Guangzhou in order to attend the increasingly popular Canton Fair. At that time, there were only a very few hotels offering relatively low standards of accommodation in Guangzhou, not to mention other places in Guangdong. Therefore, each time the Canton Fair was held, the demand for hotel rooms outstripped supply.

In order to solve the accommodation problem, the government had to motor the guests to the nearby Panyu, Conghua or Foshan for the night. However, vehicles also turned out to be insufficient, so motors were borrowed from other cities. After a certain period, even this method failed to settle the increasing visitors’ accommodation matter.

The White Swan Hotel is located at the Shamian Island, Liwan District, Guangzhou. [Photo/White Swan Hotel]

As a pioneer city in China’s program of reform and opening up, Guangzhou was in urgent need of international high-end hotels. Henry Fok, a Hong Kong businessman who’s ancestral roots can be traced back to Guangzhou’s Panyu, was invited by the State Council to partake in this development opportunity. After several tours of investigation, Henry Fok deemed Shamian Island as the optimal location for China’s first five-star hotel, the White Swan.

The White Swan Hotel was built to and from the outset, strictly operated to the standards expected of an international five-star hotel. Back then, whilst the hotel was under construction, many building materials were still unavailable in China, and as such Henry Fok specially hired people to import those materials from abroad. According to a retired employee of the hotel, all the staff were carefully trained to walk, stand, sit and serve in a professional and dignified manner.

Setting the bar high like this resulted in the White Swan Hotel becoming the first hotel in China that was admitted membership of Leading Hotels of the World in 1985, only two short years after it first opened in 1983. It also became the benchmark five-star hotel for the hotel industry in Guangdong, its influence even felt throughout the whole of China. Since then, increasing numbers of five-star hotels have opened in Guangzhou, starting with the China Hotel in 1984, and Garden Hotel in 1985.

As the first five-star hotel in China resulting from sino-foreign cooperation, the White Swan Hotel served as the model for Guangdong’s hotel industry; offering upscale catering options including both Chinese and western cuisines, and high end services and facilities.

Tim Zhang, General Manager of White Swan Hotel. [Photo/White Swan Hotel]

“Henry Fok also constantly sent our hotel staff to study abroad and learn managerial experience from our counterparts to maintain a high level of service,” said Tim Zhang, General Manager of White Swan Hotel, who joined the hotel in the same year as the White Swan Hotel was opened in 1983 and witnessed its development.

Rebirth to meet new industry challenges

In the middle of July, high school English teacher Xiao Xin and her family from west Guangdong came to Guangzhou for a short vacation. On the morning of the first day, they specially went to drink morning tea at the White Swan Hotel, attracted by its fame. As for hotel, they booked on line a homestay near the Baiyun Mountain for the first night because they would visit the mountain next day. Then they changed to a cartoon theme hotel for the second night because her son loves cartoon.

In step with the rapid development of economy and especially after birth of the Internet Era, the hotel industry in Guangdong reached new heights. Both local brands and international hotel chains ballooned in Guangdong. According to the statistics released by China Tourist Hotel Association, there are 841 five-star hotels in China by May 2017, among which 108 are from Guangdong. Not only seeing the proliferation of world renowned brands such as W Hotel, Four Seasons, Ritz-Carlton, Westin and Shangri-La, but also feature hotels, theme hotels, hostels, inns, homestays, etc.

The hotel industry worldwide has undergone earth-shaking changes over the years, not only in the type or number of hotels , but also in terms of the facilities expected by guests, the ways in which reservations are made such as Xiao Xin booking a homestay on line, management concepts and methods. There is no doubt that old brand hotels have faced unprecedented challenges. In order to rise to the occasion and keep on top, old brand hotels in Guangdong one after the other, started to transform themselves.

The press conference of the White Swan Hotel Opening Ceremony in 2015. [Photo/White Swan Hotel]

The White Swan Hotel once again took the lead by closing in March 2012 and reopening in mid-July 2015, with its amenities and services further improved. After its reopening, the White Swan Hotel is still a great favourite of local people who come to queue for morning tea every day and countless international visitors who stay throughout the year.

In the upcoming months and years, Guangzhou will hold a series of international conventions including 2017 Fortune Global Forum this December, World Route Development Forum in 2018, 31st World Ports Conference in 2019, and 13th Metropolis World Congress in 2020. This will no doubt pose a real challenge for the hotel industry in Guangzhou.

In facing the industry challenges, Tim Zhang revealed that the White Swan Hotel is confident as always. “Our updated facilities are on a par with world class five star luxury hotel brands. We have also very tastefully blended east and western aesthetics as part of this renewal. Besides, our location, on Shamian Island, is truly a beautiful setting in Guangzhou,” Tim said with a smile.

The signature waterfall in the White Swan Hotel. [Photo/White Swan Hotel]

Further Reading:

White Swan Hotel is literally well-known to all in Guangdong, especially in Guangzhou. In case you wonder why, here are some of the reasons:

★ It is the first five-star hotel of sino-foreign cooperation in China;

★ It is the first large-scale modern hotel independently designed, constructed and managed by Chinese;

★ It is the first hotel in China that became a member of Leading Hotels of the World in 1985;

★ It is one of the first three five-star hotels awarded by the China National Tourism Administration in 1990;

★ It topped the list of the first Top 50 Hotels selected by the China National Tourism Administration in 1996;

★ It has been voted as the first choice hotel for international businesspeople by famous international guide books, magazines and newspapers for many consecutive years.

★ It is also the first luxury hotel in China which allows non hotel guests to visit, and offers free toilet paper. Even though 400 rolls of toilet paper were consumed and several closestools were broken on the first day of the hotel opening, Henry Fok still insisted “the four gates of the hotel stood wide open.” He believed that his opening a hotel in Guangzhou would deliver a message to the Chinese people that the society would get better and the reform and opening up would bring well-off life to the public.