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)

“Strike Through The Mothership”. Every May for the last 3 years I have driven down to Tornado Alley to capture some amazing storms. This supercell held so much promise to drop a tornado but one small shift in the atmosphere and all that it produced was an extreme lightning show. Photo location: Broken Bow, Nebraska. (Photo and caption by Vanessa Neufeld/National Geographic Photo Contest)

Fighting Infections (single image) | Fighting Pandemic by Sudipto Das. “It’s exhausting. A tram conductor in Kolkata, India, wears protective clothing from head to toe even in the heat of a summer afternoon. This was when restrictions were easing after India’s first Covid-19 lockdown – public transport was running, but staff were advised to suit up like this. We’ve all grown used to saluting the efforts of healthcare workers, but plenty of other people in public-facing jobs have performed gruelling duties too to keep people safe”. (Photo by Sudipto Das/Wellcome Photography Prize 2021)

Policemen detain topless activists of women's rights group Femen, who stage a performance during a protest against Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko and the government while marking the Day of Dignity and Freedom near the presidential administration headquarters in Kiev, Ukraine November 21, 2017. (Photo by Valentyn Ogirenko/Reuters)

A dancer warms up backstage before the final of the 46th Prix de Lausanne, in Lausanne, Switzerland, 03 February 2018. Launched in 1973, the Prix de Lausanne is an international dance competition for young dancers aged 15 to 18. Closing the six-day event, prizes are awarded to the best of 21 finalists consisting of scholarships granting free tuition in a world-renowned dance school or dance company. (Photo by Valentin Flauraud/EPA/EFE)

Comedian Chevy Chase gets a kiss on his ear from co-star Benji as the two held a press conference in Los Angeles, September 6, 1979, at which they announced their up-coming movie “Oh Heavenly Dog” would begin filming this month. The film will be shot on location in London, Berlin and Paris; but due to British quarantine laws a double will be used for Benji at the London location. (Photo by Nick Ut/AP Photo)

A Tibetan artists wearing a traditional costume waits before their performance during the 82nd pre-birthday celebration of Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama at a Monastery in Kathmandu, Nepal, 05 July 2017. More than 1,000 monks and other Tibetans gathered at the Monastery compound to celebrate their spiritual leader's birthday. The Nepalese government has banned all kinds of Tibetan activities against the Chinese rule in Tibet so Tibetans have been changing the venue of the Dalai Lama's birthday celebration. The Dalai Lama will turn 82 on 06 July 2017. (Photo by Narendra Shrestha/EPA)

Miss Universe Zozibini Tunzi (C) waves at fans as she is driven through the streets of Johannesburg during her homecoming parade after being crowned in December 2019, Johannesburg, South Africa, 13 February 2020. Zozibini is the first black women to win the title. Miss Universe is an annual international beauty pageant that is run by the United States-based Miss Universe Organization. (Photo by Kim Ludbrook/EPA/EFE)