Chloe Khan dressed as Princess Jasmine from Aladdin seen on October 31, 2017 in London, England. (Photo by iCelebTV)

Daniel Lismore arrives for the Brit Awards at the O2 Arena in London, Britain, February 20, 2019. (Photo by Peter Nicholls/Reuters)

A person dressed in a chicken costume walks through Westminster on Good Friday in London, United Kingdom on April 2, 2021. (Photo by Hannah McKay/Reuters)

Members of the public enjoy a tea dance at the Royal Albert Hall in London, United Kingdom on April 12, 2022. (Photo by Sarah Lee/The Guardian)

Charlotte Louise, Travis Wood and Dylan Collymore in Pinocchio at Theatre Royal Stratford East, London in 2024. (Photo by Tristram Kenton/The Guardian)

Fog hangs over the east of the capital on a frosty Sunday morning on January 12, 2025 in London, UK. (Photo by David Levene/The Guardian)

Paint-splattered revellers take a break at the Notting Hill carnival in West London in the last decade of August 2022. (Photo by Andy Hall/The Observer)

Some are in it just for the money, others to help buy a meal. Then there are those who trade for fun or to spend time among friends. Millions of investors – pensioners, security guards, high-school students – dominate China's stock markets, conducting about 80 percent of all trades. Retirees gather in brokerage houses dotted around China also to enjoy some company and savour the air conditioning on hot days. Some start as young as 13, trading from home with an eye on future careers in finance. Winning isn't guaranteed. This year, among the most turbulent in China's financial history, its stock markets more than doubled in the six months to May, only to crash amid concerns that growth in the country, which makes everything from cars to steel, is slowing faster than previously thought. (Photo by Aly Song/Reuters)