Between 1920 and 1926, he studied architecture at the Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands and the Ecole Nationale Superieure des Beaux Arts in Paris.
The colonial authorities were initially reluctant to allow him to settle back in his homeland due to Liem's perceived leftist sympathies.
His return was eventually facilitated by character references given by a number of community leaders, including the parliamentarian Loa Sek Hie.
A lot of his buildings before the Second World War were commissioned by prominent members of the 'Cabang Atas', or the established Chinese elite of colonial Indonesia.
These included the politician Loa Sek Hie; the businessman Oei Tjong Hauw, son of Asia's wealthiest tycoon Majoor Oei Tiong Ham; their family company, the powerful multinational corporation Kian Gwan; the politician Han Tiauw Tjong and the landlord Tan Liok Tiauw.