Barber Herman Mulyana (R) gives a haircut to a customer while wearing protective attire made from plastic garbage bags at a barbershop in Bogor, Indonesia, 06 April 2020. The Trade Ministry of Indonesia issued a regulation temporarily recinding all requirements for the import of protective gear and medical equipment, to counter shortages of many items used to treat COVID-19 patients and prevent the further spread of the disease. (Photo by Adi Weda/EPA/EFE)

Boats moored in the middle of Dal lake are silhouetted against the setting sun on January 15, 2018 in Srinagar, the summer capital of Indian administered Kashmir, India. Kashmir, the Muslim majority state, known as the “Paradise on Earth” has for centuries captured the imagination of many writers, poets and film makers and is integral to the tourist trade. Kashmir has been a contested land between nuclear neighbors India and Pakistan since 1947, the year both the countries attained freedom from the British rule. (Photo by Yawar Nazir/Getty Images)

Women are reflected on silver panels of the French luxury brand Louis Vuitton flagship store at the Central Business District in Beijing, Wednesday, March 6, 2019. China will bar government authorities from demanding overseas companies hand over technology secrets in exchange for market share, a top economic official said Wednesday, addressing a key complaint at the heart of the current China-U.S. trade dispute. (Photo by Andy Wong/AP Photo)

A barber cuts hair of his client at a shuttered market during the countrywide traders strike in Lahore on October 29, 2019. Pakistani traders have joined hands to observe a nationwide shutterdown strike against the government over its “anti-business” policies, seeking to bring trade and economic activities across the country to a standstill on October 29 and 30. (Photo by Arif Ali/AFP Photo)

A woman takes a selfie photo by the “Friendship of Nations” fountain at the All-Russia Exhibition Centre (VDNKh) in Moscow on October 5, 2023. The fountain was installed at the All-Russia Exhibition Centre (VDNKh), a trade show and amusement park, in 1954, with 16 gilded bronze sculptures of young women representing 16 republics of the USSR around the oval fountain bowl featuring a wheat sheaf. (Photo by Alexander Nemenov/AFP Photo)

About a dozen dogs traded in their leashes for life vests Saturday for the chance to ride the waves at Jupiter beach as part of a canine surfing competition to raise money for an animal rescue group. Photo: Musso paddles in with Jengo. (Photo by Taylor Jones/The Palm Beach Post)

Demonstrators confront riot police during clashes in central Brussels November 6, 2014. Tens of thousands of public and private sector workers, employees and trade union members demonstrated over austerity measures to be taken by the new Belgian government. (Photo by Francois Lenoir/Reuters)

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)