ACADEMY
Become a city guide in Taichung | Ten years of leading tours, turned into something you can learn
Training for bilingual city guides in Taichung's old town: start with a three-hour taster, then the 45-day weekend cohort, or an in-house course for a school or company. No age limit and no English certificate required — over ten years, more than 350 people from 80-odd trades have come through.
The short version
- What it teaches
- Training for bilingual (Mandarin and English) city guides in Taichung's old town: how to read a street, how to turn research into something you can actually say out loud, and how to hold a group for a whole route
- Three ways in
- The three-hour taster at NT$999, the full cohort (weekends only, 45 days), or a six-hour in-house course for schools and companies from NT$2,000 per person
- Entry requirements
- No age limit, no language certificate, no English test threshold. A TOEIC score under 500 — or never having taken it — does not affect your eligibility; the interview decides
- When
- Weekends only, so it does not clash with a weekday job. Two people is enough to open a class
- Where
- On the streets of Taichung's Central and West Districts, entirely on location. We have no indoor classroom
- How it runs
- Apply, group interview, training, a practicum, then assessment. Pass it and you can join the guiding roster for Taichung's old town
- Ten years on
- More than 350 people trained, from over 80 different trades, travelling in from more than nine counties and cities
- Backing
- The programme received funding from the Taichung City Government Tourism and Travel Bureau in 2025
Start here
The three-hour taster
A taster of the full guide training. Small classes online or in person, flexible times with a personal coach, and two people is enough to run it. No English certificate required. Take it first, then decide about the full course.
2026 City Guide · 3-hour taster: Be a Taichung Learner
Three hours through a guide's basics: how to read a street, and how to turn what you researched into something you can actually say out loud. Two people is enough to run it, no English requirement.
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In-house course for companies and schools | City guide for a day
A six-hour course for a whole class or team, and it works as an ESG or outdoor-education programme. Book through group enquiry and we will confirm dates.
Read more →
Three ways in — which one
What separates them is how much time you want to put in and what you want at the end. To find out whether you like it, start with three hours. To actually lead tours, take the full cohort. To bring a whole class or team, book the six-hour course.
| Course | Best for | Length | Price | Class size | What you leave with |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Three-hour taster | No experience at all, and you want to find out whether you even like it | 3 hours | NT$999 | 20 per cohort | An entry-level certificate, and a discounted rate on the full course |
| The full cohort (Mandarin and English) | You actually want to lead tours and turn local knowledge into a second income | Weekends only, 45 days | Taster plus full course NT$9,999; NT$6,499 each for a group of four | Two people is enough to open a class | Pass the interview, practicum and assessment, and you join the guiding roster |
| Six-hour in-house course | School field trips, team-building, ESG and outdoor-education programmes | 6 hours | NT$2,000 per person, negotiable above ten | 4–20 per class | Everyone leads a stretch and receives a certificate, usable as a training record |
Fees follow each cohort's published rates. The full course also has a community rate of NT$6,999 for new immigrants, mothers returning to work and people aged 45 and over, plus a further discount for overseas-Chinese, international and Hong Kong/Macau students in Taiwan.
WHO CAME THROUGH
None of them started out as a guide
A site foreman, a sign-language interpreter, someone from the airline industry, software engineers, an e-commerce founder, a ship captain, an ESG consultant, a politics PhD student. Over ten years, more than 80 different trades have come through this training. They keep their weekday jobs and take to the street at the weekend, each bringing the eye of their own trade to the same route.
You do not need a humanities degree or an English certificate. Every one of these people started from nothing more than wanting to tell someone about this street.
- 80+
- Trades trained
- 43
- Active guides
- 2015
- Training since
What they do the rest of the week
- Site foreman
- Sign-language interpreter
- Airline industry
- Software engineering
- HR in tech
- Career counsellor
- E-commerce founder
- Interior design
- Event planning
- Education
- ESG and sustainability
- Ship captain
- Charter driver
- Food YouTuber
- Podcast creator
- Talent-profiling coach
- Corporate manager
- Travel industry
- Northern-lights guide
- Politics PhD student
- Engineering postgrad
- Photography
- University students
- Students studying abroad
- …and sixty-odd more
The people out on the street right now
CHESTER
Round-the-world writer
WINNIE
Thoughtful and interactive
MIGUEL
Food YouTuber
GAVIN
Slashie to the max
DONA
Fiery mum of two
JIA HAO
Bright and outgoing
CHRISTINE
104 countries and counting
ROHA
Will sit if sitting is an option
RICH
Great with students
A HOW
Northern-lights guide
FIN
Site foreman by day
RAYMOND
Sense and sensibility
YING HUI
Explains every detail
WEI
Master of time management
JASON
Introvert and extrovert
JOY
Chatty yet quiet
CLAIRE
The Western Europe bunny
CHARLENE
I guide with my dog
DOBY
Sign-language interpreter
TOFU
Slow to warm, quick to snack
MAY
Head and heart
CONDI
Warm-hearted university student
SHINE
Full-throttle uncle
EDDIE
Master's student in engineering
YIPENG
Studying in Japan
KRIS
HR in software
HOPE
Kind by nature
BENNETT
Bright and positive
JOYCE
Instant friend
RESMI
Pun enthusiast
CHING
Greece obsessive
EWA
Loves making friends
ORLANDO
Former ship captain
STEPHANIE
Friendly green fanatic
JEFF
The long-haired guy
SHINRU
Loves solo adventures
KEIRA
Student from Indonesia
CHRIS
Patient and understanding
JOSH
Student who moved north
CHLOE
Taiwanese-liquor expert
SHARON
Travel lover
WINNIE
Cool outside, warm inside
TONY
Arts and humanities
About guide training in Taichung with TC Time Walk
TC Time Walk has been training city guides in Taichung since 2015. Over ten years more than 350 people have come through, from over 80 different trades and more than nine counties and cities: a site foreman, a sign-language interpreter, people from the airline industry, software engineers, an e-commerce founder, a ship captain, an ESG consultant, a politics PhD student. They keep their weekday jobs and take to the streets of the old town at the weekend. The course was never designed for humanities graduates, and no English certificate is required.
Everything happens on location in Taichung's Central and West Districts — around the railway station, Miyahara, the Fourth Credit Union, the Green River, the old Prefectural Hall and the Second Market. We have no indoor classroom, because the craft is learned on the street: how to keep ten people with you in a noisy market, how to reroute in the rain and keep talking, how to turn local history you looked up into something a stranger will actually listen to. Teaching is interactive and built on design thinking; the English class starts from nothing and works on speaking out loud, so you do not need to arrive fluent.
The full cohort runs end to end: after you apply there is a group interview, then training, a practicum and an assessment, with a senior guide as your learning coach for three weeks — 45 days from start to finish. Those who pass join the guiding roster for Taichung's old town and start hosting travellers. That is the real difference between this and a general local-history lecture series: there is actual work on the other side of it. The programme also received funding from the Taichung City Government Tourism and Travel Bureau in 2025.
Frequently asked questions
No guiding experience and no humanities degree — can I still apply?
Yes — and that is the norm. Over ten years the people who came through this training have come from more than 80 different trades, including a site foreman, a sign-language interpreter, airline staff, software engineers, a ship captain and an ESG consultant. Most had no guiding experience at all when they applied. There is no age limit and no language certificate required. If you are unsure, take the three-hour taster at NT$999 first and decide afterwards.
Does my English have to be good? What TOEIC score do I need?
There is no English test threshold and no score requirement. Not knowing your TOEIC score, or scoring under 500, does not affect your eligibility to apply or train; the interviewer decides. We treat delivery as something you build through habit and real tours, and the English class starts from zero on speaking out loud. If you only want to lead in Mandarin, take the Mandarin class.
What is the difference between the three-hour taster and the full course? Where should I start?
The taster is three hours, NT$999, and ends with an entry-level certificate; its job is to let you find out whether you like this. The full course is 45 days of weekends and includes a group interview, training, a practicum and an assessment, after which you can join the roster. Starting with the taster is the simplest route — everyone joining this year's training has to take it anyway, and it feeds into a discounted bundle with the full course.
Will the classes clash with a weekday job?
No — the full course runs entirely at weekends, precisely so it does not clash with a weekday job. The three-hour taster is also scheduled on weekends. The six-hour in-house course for schools and companies works around your dates: we confirm coach availability and come back to you. Two people is enough to open a class, so you do not have to wait for a large group to fill up.
After finishing, do I actually get to lead tours?
Yes. The full course includes a practicum and an assessment by design, and those who pass join the guiding roster for Taichung's old town and start hosting travellers. That is the real difference from a general local-history lecture series: there is actual work on the other side. Most guides do this at weekends alongside a weekday job; how often you are scheduled and what you earn depends on the roster and the tours at the time.
We want to book this for a whole class or team — how does that work?
Book the six-hour in-house course: 4–20 people per class at NT$2,000 each, negotiable above ten, and we can issue a formal quote. Above 20 we split it into two classes, because everyone leads a stretch at the end. It runs outdoors in the old town; send your enquiry at least three days ahead and we confirm coach availability, dates and a quote. It works directly as an ESG or outdoor-education activity.
Are the classes indoors or outdoors? What happens if it rains?
Mainly outdoors, on location in Taichung's old town. We have no indoor classroom, so if an in-house booking needs an indoor space, please provide your own. The full course also includes an online, structured e-learning component. Light rain does not stop class — bring an umbrella. For heavy rain or a weather warning we notify you and reschedule.
Are there any discounts?
Three kinds. Group rates: four people together get 35% off (NT$6,499 each for the full course), two people NT$8,999 each. A community rate of NT$6,999 for new immigrants, mothers returning to work and people aged 45 and over — verified with documentation after you apply. And a further NT$499 off for overseas-Chinese, international and Hong Kong/Macau students in Taiwan. Actual offers follow each cohort's published rates.