Former Belgian Consulate

Former Belgian Consulate

The Former Belgian Consulate is a cultural relic protection unit in Tianjin.

Former Belgian Consulate

Era: 1921

Address: No. 102–104 Jiefang North Road, Heping District, Tianjin

Category: Important Modern Historical Site and Representative Architecture

The Belgian Consulate was established after the Boxer Rebellion. In 1901, the Belgian government, citing Tianjin as a trading port for various countries, requested from the Qing government to establish a concession in Tianjin. In February 1902, Belgian Consul in Tianjin Gades, acting on behalf of Belgian Envoy Plenipotentiary Yosiden, signed a land lease agreement with Zhang Lianfen, the representative appointed by the Qing government, designating over 740 acres of land in present-day Hedong as the Belgian concession.

The governing body of the Belgian concession was the Board of Directors, whose members were composed of senior foreign residents in the concession. The chairmanship was always held by the Consul General, making the Consul General the de facto highest administrative official of the Belgian concession. Since the Belgian concession was located in a relatively remote area, the Belgian consul, in order to maintain close ties with the authorities of other concessions, never located the Belgian consulate within its own leased territory, but instead situated it in the more bustling and transportation-convenient British concession, sharing the building with the Banque Sino-Belge. The building was constructed in 1921, stretching along the east side of Jiefang North Road, south to Taiyuan Avenue, west to Dagu Road, and north to Dalian Road. It was designed and supervised by the Belgian company Société Immobilière de Belgique. The building has a construction area of 2,339.5 square meters, is of brick-concrete structure, and retains its original appearance largely intact.