In Guangzhou, I haven't been there yet but you might want to see the Kaiping Diaolou, a World heritage site, about 2 hours away by bus.
http://edition.cnn.com/2013/08/12/tr...iping-diaolou/
http://wikitravel.org/en/Kaiping

Other sites of interest might be:
- Chen Clan Academy for a look at old Chinese architecture
- Canton Tower / Zhujiang Xincheng or JiansheLu Malu area for nightlife (western bars)
- Shamian Island
- ShangXiaJiu Pedestrian road

Please see http://wikitravel.org/en/Guangzhou for other suggestions of what to see.

Also while in Guangzhou you should definitely try eating dim sum. One place I recommend is "BeiYuan JiuJia" on XiaoBei road
http://www.frommers.com/destinations...aurants/226425

By the way I live in GZ so if you can visit on a weekend I may be able to show you around.