I've got a trip to Hong Kong booked and pretty much all set. Lots of ideas on what to do and what to see. I've been offered a chance take a full day trip from Hong Kong across the border into China, mostly in the Guangzhou area. A few options have presented themselves, but essentially they'd involve a 1/2 day seeing the sights in Guangzhou and then the other half of the day at a nearby mountain, or a river trip out into the rural areas.

I've got plenty of time in Hong Kong, so my question: is it worth it to make the one day trip out to see this city and the sights? It'll be at no cost to me. I just don't want to agree to go if Guangzhou is not really worth a stop and the sights are generally non-existant.

Any opinions on Guangzhou and the area around it as a tourist destination?

Thanks!