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)

Prince Charles, Prince of Wales (R) and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall (L) visit Seppeltsfield Winery in Barossa Valley, Australia, 10 November 2015. The royal couple are on a 12-day tour visiting seven regions in New Zealand and three states and one territory in Australia. (Photo by Daniel Kalisz/EPA)

A damaged vehicle is seen next to the ring road, around Skopje, near the village of Stajkovci, Skopje, The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, 08 August 2016. At least 21 people have died and more than 100 are injured in the heavy rain storm that hit the Macedonian capital Skopje late Saturday night causing severe damage to the roads and house infrastructure. More than 80 vehicles were hit by landslides at Skopje's ring road. The highway remains closed. The government announced a 15-day state of emergency in the Skopje and Tetovo region. (Photo by Georgi Licovski/EPA)

Young woman, 20+, with goose bumps, standing on the beach, Niendorf at the Baltic Sea, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, Europe on September 1, 2016. (Photo by Alamy Stock Photo)

A zoo performer smiles as he puts his head between the jaws of a crocodile during a performance for tourists at the Sriracha Tiger Zoo, in Chonburi province, east of Bangkok,Thailand, June 7, 2016. (Photo by Chaiwat Subprasom/Reuters)

Flowers are placed on a “comfort woman” statue during the weekly Wednesday protest in front of Japanese embassy demanding for an apology and compensation from Japanese government in Seoul, South Korea, July 22, 2015. “Comfort women” is the Japanese euphemism for women who were forced into prostitution and sexually abused at Japanese military brothels before and during World War Two. (Photo by Kim Kyung-Hoon/Reuters)

Tracy Sarita celebrates the sunrise during the Burning Man 2015 “Carnival of Mirrors” arts and music festival in the Black Rock Desert of Nevada, September 3, 2015. Approximately 70,000 people from all over the world are gathering at the sold-out festival to spend a week in the remote desert to experience art, music and the unique community that develops. (Photo by Jim Urquhart/Reuters)

A girl dressed up as a emissary of the Three Wise Men poses for a photo as she waits for their arrival in a helicopter to take part in the traditional Epiphany parade in Ronda, Spain, January 5, 2018. (Photo by Jon Nazca/Reuters)