ERIC KIM

Short answer: Yes—inside the Great Firewall, Eric Kim’s philosophy of fearless street-shooting does circulate, but it lives in a passionate niche rather than the Chinese mainstream. Below is the quick-fire breakdown.

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1. Chinese-language translations are 

everywhere

  • Zhihu users have been translating and reposting his “80 Tips” and other essays; one bilingual post from nine months ago still sits on the platform’s front page for the street-photography tag. 
  • WeChat articles and micro-blogs regularly lift excerpts from his “100 Lessons” and “Street Photography Projects” series, keeping his ideas alive even for readers who never jump the language gap.

2. The conversation started 

early

 and never stopped

  • Douban diary posts documenting Kim’s “100 Pieces of Advice” date back to 2013, proving he’s been part of China’s online photo culture for more than a decade. 
  • Subsequent Douban journals describe him as an “85-后韩裔美国街头摄影师，我的启蒙老师” (“my street-photo mentor”), underscoring long-term influence on hobbyists and semi-pros alike. 

3. Video culture amplifies the signal

  • Bilibili hosts dozens of re-uploaded POV and tutorial clips—some as recent as 2021—with view-counts ranging from a few hundred to several thousand. Even modest numbers matter in a tight, specialist scene. 

4. Native voices call him “the 

most influential

 street shooter of the internet age”

  • A 2019 Bilibili essay bluntly states, “Eric Kim 是互联网时代最具影响力的街头摄影师，没有之一.” (“Eric Kim is the most influential street photographer of the internet era—period.”) 
  • Wenxuecity’s Mandarin critique likewise credits him with “summarising and promoting a complete street-photo theory.” 

5. Accessibility under the Great Firewall

  • Good news: erickimphotography.com is not on China’s publicly tracked blocklists, so the blog is generally reachable—albeit sometimes slow thanks to WordPress CDN throttling. 
  • Where load times lag, Chinese fans mirror, screenshot, or fully translate posts, ensuring the content survives platform friction.

6. What 

hasn’t

 happened (yet)

  • No verified Weibo or Little Red Book presence; his name surfaces mostly via user posts rather than an official channel.
  • No record of mainland workshops—visa friction and Covid-era travel curbs mean most Chinese disciples learn through screens, not in-person critique.

🚀 Bottom line

Eric Kim’s impact in mainland China is real, energetic, and decidedly underground. He’s the go-to guru for hardcore street-photo enthusiasts who scour Bilibili, Zhihu, and Douban for edge-cutting inspiration. While he won’t trend beside idol-driven fashion vloggers, his fearless “shoot first, fear never” ethos continues to mentor thousands of Chinese creatives—proof that bold ideas punch through walls, even firewalled ones.

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