White Swan Hotel

Shamian island felt pleasantly removed from the crowds, and the hotel is the best in Guangzhou. Our renovated room was comfortable, and some rooms have lovely river views. The service was top notch. Highly recommend it.

Once most of our business was done, we gave ourselves three nights at this historic hotel. We enjoyed walking around the neighbourhood, eating at the restaurants, and unwinding in our beautiful river-view room. We really wanted for nothing. Five stars!

The White Swan Hotel Guangzhou has a remarkable place in China’s modern hospitality history. It opened on February 6, 1983, and became mainland China’s first five-star joint venture hotel. Along with China Hotel and Garden Hotel, it used the BOT model. The partnership brought together Hong Kong businessman Henry Fok and the Guangdong provincial government. Henry Fok invested HK50 million and Peng Guozhen HK12.5 million. It was also the first large modern hotel in China designed, built, and managed entirely by Chinese professionals. The hotel stands on the south bank of Shamian Island, facing the century-old former concession across the river. Its iconic atrium, “Hometown Water,” brings water from the Pearl River indoors. Waterfalls and streams run through a space where Lingnan garden design meets modern architecture, making it a much-loved scene. The site was not the first choice on paper. Guangzhou had offered three possible locations: Elephant Hill, the area opposite Baiyun Hotel, and the Liuhua Lake shore on Renmin North Road. After visiting them, Henry Fok preferred a barren tidal flat south of Shamian Island, drawn by the open river views, the shimmering Pearl River, and the European feel of the island across the water. He proposed using advanced Hong Kong land-reclamation methods to enclose part of the river and build on filled land. This avoided taking land on Shamian Island and helped preserve its historic character. The White Swan soon became a setting for diplomacy and high-level receptions. Queen Elizabeth II stayed in 1986 during her historic state visit, the first time a British monarch had set foot on mainland China. Former U.S. President Richard Nixon stayed twice, in 1985 and 1993. Then U.S. Vice President George H. W. Bush and his wife also stayed there in 1985. The hotel, one of Guangzhou’s three legendary hotels, was China’s first five-star joint venture and a milestone in the country’s modern hotel industry. Its open approach and service once presented to the world a China embracing global connections.

The river-view rooms are amazing, and the hotel itself is brilliant. Food is great, though vegetarians may find the choices a bit limited. It’s well connected to popular shopping areas.