2026 Homecoming Stories

This Spring Festival, I watched Ji Si Lu several times but didn’t see any reports about the hometown in 2026.
So I’ll start the conversation and share a few thoughts.

In a small village near the county seat of a fourth-tier city in central Henan, I spent two days at home during New Year’s Eve and the first day of the Lunar New Year this year.
Here’s what I observed:

1. This year, fireworks and firecrackers are banned here, just like last year. But the villagers feel this regulation is meaningless; after working hard all year, they still want to set off a few firecrackers. Moreover, most think that law enforcement turns a blind eye, so they still set off firecrackers secretly. Law enforcement vehicles patrol each village, but it feels more like a formality—using loudspeakers to promote safety rather than strict enforcement. However, compared to last year, there are noticeably fewer fireworks and firecrackers, and they are much sparser. Maybe everyone is just having a harder time making money.
2. There are not many young people in the village, or rather, fewer than last year. I asked around; a relative’s brother worked in Jiangsu last year but is having trouble finding work this year, so he went to Saudi Arabia to work and hasn’t come back. Another relative is doing business in the provincial capital but lost a lot of money and also hasn’t returned. The village feels noticeably quieter.
3. Among everyone I met this year, very few smoke, whether elderly or young. In previous years, I often encountered villagers drunk from alcohol, but this year, that’s rare. Personally, I feel that the consumer sector still has a long way to go.

That’s all for now.