Once a country with zero skyscrapers, China now has the most in the world, a product of China's 40 years of transformation.

It all started in the southern city of Guangzhou with a riverside hotel known as the White Swan. 

The White Swan Hotel opened its doors in 1983 as the first 100-meter-tall skyscraper in China, and the story of this 34-floor structure goes back 40 years to when China started its opening up and reform. 

"In the early stages of China's opening up and reform, there were no proper hotels in the country,” said Zhang Tian, General Manager of White Swan Hotel. He has been working in the hotel since it opened 35 years ago.

The architect of China's opening up and reform, Deng Xiaoping, decided in 1978 that China needed to build eight high-end hotels in its four largest cities.

"By 1979, lots of foreigners came to the (Canton) fair to trade. So Guangzhou was often the first stop of many foreigners to China,” said Professor Shen Minghao from Guangdong University of Foreign Studies, adding that “the White Swan Hotel not only provided accommodations but a clear announcement to the world that China's opening up was serious and foreign guests were welcome." 

Fok Ying-tung, famous Hong Kong businessman, spared no effort in building this hotel. He decided to reclaim a section of the Pearl River and build the White Swan on it. For a building so tall, engineers had to dig more than 100 meters deep into the rocks at the bottom of the river to create a solid foundation. 

Fok Tsun-ting, the eldest son of Fok Ying-tung, witnessed the entire construction process by his father's side. "My father paid so much attention to the construction of the hotel. He visited the construction site lots of times and I was with him every time. I was moved to see him paying attention to every detail." 

Fok Ying-tung's efforts were rewarded when the hotel opened on February 6, 1983. Dozens of provincial and municipal officials and even some from the central government attended the grand opening. Thousands of Guangzhou citizens flocked to the White Swan as well to take a look at China's first international hotel. The hotel's inner garden, called "hometown water," featuring rock works, a waterfall, and a pavilion, became a popular spot for photos. 

The White Swan has hosted many important guests from around the world, including Queen Elizabeth II, former U.S. President George Bush, former U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger and former Cuban leader Fidel Castro. The very person who initiated the idea of building the hotel, Deng Xiaoping, enjoyed the White Swan and even took his family there twice.

"The White Swan Hotel is not just a business. It's an iconic building for China's opening up and reform. We wanted it to have a positive influence on society," Fok Tsun-ting said.  

By 2018, 35 years after the White Swan was completed, China had the highest number of buildings rising above 150 meters in the world at 1,500. That is more than the number of skyscrapers in the U.S., the UAE, Japan, and South Korea combined. Forty eight of the buildings in China soar above 300 meters. 

Over the past four decades, the rising skyline of the Chinese cities has symbolized the country's urbanization, renaissance, and increasing confidence. And China as a whole is like a building still under construction. The higher it gets, the bigger the required foundation. And the foundation is serving the people.