The Very Brief History of the First Chinese Student House in Belgium
Post card – Place Maghin (1) Number 5 was like any other residence building at the Maghin Square. It was situated in a neighborhood far away from the bustling center of Liège, with an unblocked view of the Saint-Léonard prison and in short walking distance of the river La Meuse . And yet, in the morning of February 18, 1904, it started to attract onlookers to its facade. The house had recently got a new purpose and had had to undergo a sudden transformation to meet it. In the two weeks leading up to that day, people had moved in and out to prepare the place and local newspapers had dedicated a few lines of reporting to the changing interior, mentioning military-style beds being carried to the second floor, the arrival of a blackboard for one level below and plans of installing gymnastic devices in the large garden. (2) But the interior's redressing was not what peaked local interest. It was the new inhabitants whose clothes had been described in vivid detail...