Record of the 2026 May Day Holiday

The May Day holiday of 2026 is over, so I'm writing this down now.

Day One

Drove to Xiangcheng, Zhoukou to deliver some tea to my college classmate Wang Wei. I had contacted him twice before the holiday, but there was something going on over the weekend, so I postponed it to the May Day break.

This was my first time driving on the expressway during the May Day holiday. I was always worried about traffic jams and having to queue for charging, which would make for a terrible experience. So I usually choose weekends or summer vacation for road trips, avoiding long trips during May Day and National Day. Normally it takes 20 minutes to get onto the airport expressway, but this time the navigation routed me via the South Fourth Ring Road and the ring expressway, and it took an hour just to get on the highway. Although there wasn't a major traffic jam, it was still slow enough.

On the highway, before the Luohe service area, there were several sections that were sluggish, with stop-and-go traffic. At one point, I decided to take the right shoulder, and the traffic police actually advised it—there was a sign allowing it to ease congestion. Taking the far right lane saved me a lot of time. Near the entrance to the Luohe service area, I saw the queue and decisively gave up, continuing on. After passing Luohe, traffic thinned out significantly, though it was still heavier than usual. Normally I hardly see any cars ahead or behind, and often I'm the only one on the road.

At the next service area, the charging queue was already long, and I didn't want to wait. The car had enough charge to reach the destination. I parked for a while, used the restroom, paused briefly, and then continued driving straight to Xiangcheng. I've been to Xiangcheng several times before, so I know the charging station locations well. It wasn't far from the highway exit, no detour needed, so I went straight there to charge the car on the way. The remaining range was about 50 km. Throughout the drive, the power consumption was essentially 1:1. The terrain had slight ups and downs, not entirely flat. I drove freely without worrying about battery usage. After many road trips, I'm completely confident in the displayed range of the Tesla Model Y Long Range.

At the bus charging station, I topped up more than 100 km, then went directly to the Lotus Welcome Hotel. The hotel is connected to the former Lotus Monosodium Glutamate Factory, an asset from that era. We checked in at the hotel to rest, and at five in the evening, my classmate's family came to find us. Following his car, we went to Xianghu Park, where you can catch crayfish. The park environment was great, and surprisingly, even though it was a holiday, there weren't many people. Compared to parks in Zhengzhou, it had fewer people than even a workday. This kind of environment makes it easy to relax. The small county has excellent hardware infrastructure and multiple public parks, making it very livable. Across from the park is Xianghu Courtyard, a foreign-style residential complex still under construction. Its overall design and style would rank among the top in Zhengzhou's real estate. In terms of living environment, it blows Zhengzhou away.

In the evening, we went to a restaurant street and ate at a small table in front of the shop. Compared to a formal hotel private room, it felt much more relaxed. There was alcohol, food, and cheerful conversation.

I had originally planned to stay a few more days, but my son wanted to go home to play video games and didn't want to waste his holiday time. We respected the child's own plan. The next morning, it was raining, so after saying goodbye, we headed back. I hadn't seen my classmate in years, and this time it was just a brief meeting—many words went unsaid.

On the way back, the road was smooth all the way, and we got home in just over 2 hours.

Day Two

At home.

Day Three

At home.

Day Four

I went back to my hometown alone, bought some fruit and snacks for the family, and brought my dad a new polo shirt. He wasn't home during the day, so he tried it on when he got back. If it didn't fit, I'd make another trip.

In the evening, we watched "Pegasus 3" together.

Day Five

I went back to my hometown alone to bring back the other size 175 shirt. I had bought two shirts in different sizes. I was hoping to get away with just one trip, but the one I brought was bigger than expected, so I ended up making two trips.

Final Thoughts

During the national holidays of May Day and National Day, I usually choose to stay home or go camping. In short, I try to keep the holiday schedule relaxed.