Natural Science Museum to the Broadcasting Bureau, Taichung: free self-guided walking tour
Quick answer. A free self-guided walking tour from the National Museum of Natural Science to the Broadcasting Bureau in Taichung: 5 stops, about 4.9 km, about 65 minutes of walking plus about 31 minutes of listening. Start at the National Museum of Natural Science, Taiwan’s first comprehensive science museum, built in four phases from a 1977 national plan. Cross Xitun Road to its botanical garden, opened in 1999, where a glass greenhouse 31 meters tall holds a lowland rainforest. Walk north to Bao Jue Temple, a Rinzai Zen temple of about 1927, and on to the Martyrs’ Shrine of 1970. Finish at the Taichung Broadcasting Bureau, a castle-like radio station of 1935, the third on the island.
- Stops:
- 5
- Distance:
- about 4.9 km
- Walking:
- about 65 min
- Listening:
- about 31 min
Two ways to do this walk
Taichung with Mappu
Walk Mode, in the free Mappu app
It knows where you are, tells you about everything you pass between the stops, answers your questions and keeps you on the route. Your phone stays in your pocket.
A 2-hour live walk, €4.99.
50 credits from the Starter pack. One-time purchase, no subscription.
Self-guided audio walk. No guide accompanies you. Not affiliated with the sites.
Free: the audio guides
Listen to each stop’s audio guide in your browser and find your own way between the stops.
Walking directions in Google MapsNatural Science Museum to the Broadcasting Bureau, Taichung: how long does the walk take?
About 96 minutes in all: about 65 minutes on foot over about 4.9 km, plus about 31 minutes of audio at the 5 stops. Time inside the sites is extra.
Natural Science Museum to the Broadcasting Bureau, Taichung: in what order should you visit the stops?
Follow the stops in this order: National Museum of Natural Science, Tropical Rainforest Greenhouse, Taichung Bao Jue Buddhist Temple, Taichung Martyrs’ Shrine, and Taichung Broadcasting Bureau. The longest stretch between two stops is about 2.4 km, about 32 min on foot.
Route and map
Indicative route. While you walk, watch where you're going, mind the traffic and follow local signs and rules. The map is an aid, not a safety guide. Terms
Follow Mappu’s map: the route runs along the streets from stop to stop, and the stories keep playing as you walk.
To get to the first stop, or if you’re far from the route, Google Maps has walking directions through every stop.
Stop 1
Taiwan’s first comprehensive science museum, born of a 1977 national plan and finished in four phases, with four halls, a Space Theater and a 3D theater, built to be touched and tried.
about 6 min of audio
Next stop: Tropical Rainforest Greenhouse · about 0.4 km, about 6 min on foot
Stop 2
A steel-and-glass greenhouse 31 meters tall in the museum’s botanical garden across Xitun Road, opened in 1999, with about 500 kinds of tropical lowland rainforest plants.
about 6 min of audio
Next stop: Taichung Bao Jue Buddhist Temple · about 2.4 km, about 32 min on foot
Stop 3
PaoChueh Temple, a Rinzai Zen temple founded around 1927 under Japanese rule, with a Japanese-style main hall, white elephants, a Peace Kannon of 1954 and tablets of Japanese who died in Taiwan.
about 7 min of audio
Next stop: Taichung Martyrs’ Shrine · about 1.2 km, about 16 min on foot
Stop 4
A palace-style shrine finished in 1970 on the ground of the Taichung Shinto shrine moved here in 1942, entered through a blue-tiled archway, with rites each spring and autumn.
about 6 min of audio
Next stop: Taichung Broadcasting Bureau · about 0.9 km, about 12 min on foot
Stop 5
A radio station of 1935, the island’s third after Taipei and Tainan, with round arches, a crenellated parapet and a round stairwell, registered as a historic building in 2002 and restored in 2003–2004.
about 6 min of audio
The stop stories are AI-generated audio guides and can contain mistakes. Check opening hours and tickets on the official sites.
Planning a trip to Taichung?
Get your plan
Mappu sketches your days free in the chat, no account needed. Then take the full plan with you:
- Weekend trip, €9.99: Your day-by-day plan plus 2 live walks
- Save your trip’s free guides on your phone in the Mappu app: they play with no signal
Before you go
- Check opening hours, tickets and access on each site’s official page before you go.
- Distances and times are estimates: the walking route between stops, from OpenStreetMap, at 4.5 km/h. Your route on the street may differ.
More walking tours in Taichung
Confucian Temple to Bao Jue Temple, Taichung
3 stops · about 1.5 km · about 20 min on foot · about 17 min of audioTaichung Confucian Temple → Taichung Martyrs’ Shrine → Taichung Bao Jue Buddhist TempleFree audio at every stop, or walk it with MappuSee the routeLiterature Museum to the Museum of Fine Arts, Taichung
3 stops · about 2.7 km · about 35 min on foot · about 18 min of audioTaichung Literature Museum → National Taiwan Museum of Comics → National Taiwan Museum of Fine ArtsFree audio at every stop, or walk it with MappuSee the route
Plan more days in Taichung
These day-by-day Mappu itineraries include Taichung. The day links open the days that visit stops on this walk.
Route checked by Mappu on November 2, 2026. Stop descriptions come from each place’s published Mappu audio guide. Mappu is a Fenutech product.