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)

Tattoo artists work on clients during the second International Tattoo Festival in Sochi, Russia, April 23, 2016. (Photo by Kazbek Basayev/Reuters)

“Unexpected x2 (a.k.a. “how much is that doggie in the window”)”. Taiwan, 2011. (Photo and caption by Asian (Street) Impressions)

A cosplay enthusiast waits at the premiere of the movie “Warcraft” in Hollywood, California U.S., June 6, 2016. (Photo by Mario Anzuoni/Reuters)

People enjoy the color run in Guangzhou, Guangdong province of China on May 29, 2022. (Photo by Stringer/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

This picture taken on March 21, 2015 shows a couple kissing in front of blooming cherry blossoms in Wuhan in central China's Hubei province. The cherry blossoms, now in full bloom, attracted tens of thousands of visitors, local media reported. (Photo by AFP Photo/Stringer)

Girls in Han costumes pose for a photo with blooming cherry blossoms at Yuyuantan Park during Qingming Festival holiday on April 4, 2022 in Beijing, China. Qingming Festival, also known as Tomb Sweeping Day, falls on April 5 this year. (Photo by Zhao Naiming/VCG via Getty Images)

Members of the special operations team conduct a building climbing training in Qinzhou, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, April 13, 2021. (Photo credit should read Costfoto/Barcroft Media via Getty Images)