One of Guangzhou’s most iconic structures, the White Swan Hotel, is now closed for an entire year to facilitate large-scale renovations costing RMB600 million.

The hotel, known as the home of American and other foreign families who come to Guangzhou to adopt Chinese babies, has had a long and storied history. It was one of the first five-star hotels in Guangzhou and has become synonymous with the city.

The Life of Guangzhou tells us what’s in store:

The project will renew the hotel’s facilities and enlarge the rooms to help the first Sino-foreign cooperative five-star hotel to meet the ever-growing needs of patrons. After renovations the 843 rooms in the hotel will be reduced to about 500.

“We had over 90 percent occupancy yesterday,” said Xie Weijie, vice general manager of the hotel. He said many people had come to bid farewell these days.

According to Xie, the basic appearance of the hotel, especially given its unique scenic location, will be kept intact. However, the restaurants and dining halls will undergo work until early February of next year.

The article notes the Garden Hotel in Guangzhou received a similar upgrade last year. Another historic hotel, the Peace Hotel in Shanghai, was also closed for two years for a massive renovation. Like the White Swan, the Peace Hotel was nearly fully booked in the weeks leading up to its closure.

With new luxury hotels seemly opening in Guangzhou by the month, the White Swan was long overdue for a facelift.