Can we re-enter China from Japan on a valid Residence Permit?

Hi there, my friend and I are Australian residents. We each have a blue Residence Permit in the People's Republic of China because we had a short 1.5 month work contract there. Our Residence Permit expires on the 17th of October (issue date 23 September this year). We finished working at the end of last week and are now in Japan travelling til the 4th of October. Do we need another Visa to re-enter China (only returning to China Guangzhou for a 12 hour wait til our flight home from Guangzhou airport so will not be leaving the airport).