If you have been to Guangzhou before, then this time you can give it a skip, I suppose. Not that I am suggesting you should; its SHAMIAN ISLAND is particularly attractive, and I also recommend the Provincial Museum of the NANYUE Kingdom, located near the CHINA HOTEL and opposite the equally beautiful YUEXIU PARK.

But, as said before, you might not want to spend your time in a place you have acquainted yourself with before. How about the following places to visit:
- XIQIAO, within the Nanhai municipality, some 25 to 30 kms SW of Guangzhou; this is a small town (nothing to write home about) with a huge and pleasant mountainous park full of temples, small guesthouses and walking trails. This is for the nature lover who also appreciates cultural relics. Admission to the park is RMB 10 (if I remember correctly), but it's really worth the money!
There are direct buses to XIQIAO from the Provincial Bus Station in Guangzhou (near the main railway station).

- ZHAOQING: Some 110 kms to the W of Guangzhou, a very small town, again nothing special about this though it is certainly more laid-back than noisy and dirty Guangzhou; again, what makes it famous is its SEVEN STAR CRAGS PARK. This is a territory roughly the same size as the town proper. You can walk for hours on causeways, hills, rocks - some will remind you of Halong Bay in Vietnam or the karst outcrops of Guilin.
There is a YH inside the park; admission is a steep RMB 50, but you only pay once, and then you can stay inside as long as you like.

- TAISHAN, JIANGMEN etc.: To the S of Guangzhou, a little SW of ZHONGSHAN and ZHUHAI is a county called JIANGMEN with towns called KAIPING, TAISHAN and JIANGMEN.
Some of those villages and towns have a unique feature - palaces and castles built along models of Western mansions and castles. They are called DIANLOU, and they look truly impressive. Their owners were Guangdong emigrants who got rich while working overseas, usually the U.S.A., where they adopted a love for western architecture. You must see them in order to believe me!

- ZHUHAI: Not really a holiday resort, but if you like a clean and airy town go to Zhuhai. Good fresh air. You can visit islands such as SHUANGCHUAN - very interesting! You will even see the odd Portuguese chapel!
Once in ZHUHAI, I am sure you will want to explore formerly Portuguese Macau! It's really worth a visit! Good fusion cuisine, local specialties include cookies and "African chicken". The Portuguese buildings will transport you back to medieval Europe. There is a STARUCK'S, but you can enjoy excellent espresso and cappuccino in numerous Chinese-owned cafes at far lower prices. Also you can stock up on good Aussie and Portuguese wines at a real good price!

- SHENZHEN: 
I don't recommend this place particularly, but if I had to conduct a tour there I would show them around WUTONGSHAN (a healthy hike of 3 hours uphill through densely-forested parkland to an altitude of 944 meters above sea level!). Also, Lytchee Park is interesting; if you have time and money go to the OVERSEAS CHINEESE TOWN half-way between Shenzhen and Shekou; here you will find several theme parks (Window of the World; Splendid China; SAFARI PARK).
Shekou has a very westernized waterfront complete with dozens of very good (but pricey) bars.
But beware on the streets of Nanshan and in Luohu: hordes of pickpockets and even some rough elements!

- HUIZHOU:
A small town that's been left out of the frenetic development elsewhere but has some charming old-fashioned scenery including a replica "Western Lake" analogous to the one in Hangzhou.

- HUMEN: On the Pearl River, famous for its Lin Zexu Memorial Museum. An interesting museum, a little tacky but quite informative. Also the tans-Pearl River bridge is quite a sight!

- - SHAOGUAN:
Some guy mentioned mountains there; in fact Shaoguan is the staging place for Buddhist pilgrimages to some monasteries in the hills to the North of the town. It's rural and charming. Shaoguan itself has nothing to offer.

- Near GUANGZHOU:

Panyu:
This is a small town ("small" meaning it is still home to over one million inhabitants...), and it has a very lively town centre.
-Guzhen Town
Guzhen Town is situated in the hinterland of the Pearl River Delta,between Zhongshan and Jiangmen, and is the hometown of the great Dr. Sun Yat-sen, the father of our nation. As you know, Guzhen is the lighting capital of China and one the largest ligthing marketplace in the world.
Guzhen has been evolving as a lighting industry base since 1982. With efforts from both the private and public sectors, the town eventually grew into the largest specialized domestic lighting production base and wholesale market for lighting products. Lighting products made in Guzhen account for more than 60 percent of the domestic civil lighting market. These products are also exported to more than 80 countries and regions, including Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan, Southeast Asia, Japan, the U.S., and Europe.
The town's most famous thoroughfare is Xinxing Road, known locally as the "Lighting Street". With government support, the seven-kilometer stretch of Xinxing Road is crammed end-to-end with lighting companies. Guzhen currently counts 4000 registered lighting enterprises employing more than 40,000 workers.
With the lighting industry widely considered as Guzhen's "economic pillar", the town's reputation as a supplier of high-quality, competitively priced products has grown significantly. In 2002 Guzhen's contribution to the lighting industry was officially recognized as "China's Lighting Capital," a title bestowed on the town by the China Federation of Light Industry and the China Association of Lighting Industry.
There isn't much to visit, apart from BAOMA Park and a forest park; yet I recommend visiting the town centre to get the feel of small-town China at its best...
Good restaurants, including Thai food!