In the 40 years since China began the process of reform and opening up, it has developed from a place with no high-rise buildings into a nation with the most skyscrapers in the world. The process started in the southern city of Guangzhou with a hotel called the White Swan.
Standing next to colonial-era buildings on historic Shamian Island in the Pearl River, the five-star White Swan opened in 1983. China’s first 100-metre tall building was built by a Hong Kong developer answering former Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping’s call for high-end hotels.
The White Swan went on to host many important guests from around the world, including Britain’s Queen Elizabeth, US President George W. Bush, former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, Cuban leader Fidel Castro and Microsoft founder Bill Gates.
