White Swan WIll Close from December 2007 - October 2008 - or - Can We Still Get a Red Couch Picture?

White Swan Hotel Will Close For Renovation

The White Swan Hotel in Guangzhou will embark upon a 10-month renovation this December, after recent approval from the Guangdong Provincial Government.
The five-star hotel plans to close its business entirely during the large-scale renovation, which will cost RMB530 million. The facade, rooms, lobby, air-conditioning systems, power supplies and parking lots will all be renovated. A new 1,000-square-meter convention center and a multi-floor underground parking lot will be built. Following the re-development, rooms will be larger, but somewhat fewer than the present 843.
The hotel is the fourth five-star hotel in the city to undergo significant renovations in recent years, following the Dong Fang, Garden and China hotels and increasingly severe competition in the top-end hotel business.
The White Swan Hotel opened to the public and began operation on February 6, 1983. Three years later, it was accepted as the member of the "Leading Hotels of the World" for its excellent management and service. The hotel was awarded one of the first five-star hotels in China in 1990 and was selected as one of "A Hundred First-Class and Fifty Best Star Hotels of China" by National Tourism Administration of China in 1996. It has received over 40 heads of states and governments including Britain's Queen Elizabeth II and President Bush of the United States.