A vendor drinks water as she waits for customers at a roadside flower market in Ahmedabad, India, February 8, 2017. (Photo by Amit Dave/Reuters)

Crocodile meat parts stands on display on Huangsha Seafood Market in Guangzhou, Guandong Province, China, 20 January 2018. Tsukiji Market of China or Huangsha Seafood Market is biggest one in Southern China and one of the biggest in China, as there are literally hundreds of different varieties of fish and seafood scattered throughout the market. (Photo by Aleksandar Plavevski/EPA/EFE)

Performers take part in a parade during the annual Cervantes market (Mercado Cervantino) in the hometown of famous Spanish writer Miguel de Cervantes, Alcala de Henares, Spain, October 9, 2015. The Mercado Cervantino, which represents a market and fair from the 16th and 17th centuries, takes place in the city's historic centre and commemorates Miguel de Cervantes' baptism, which took place on October 9, 1547. (Photo by Susana Vera/Reuters)

A man walks behind camels at the Birqash Camel Market, ahead of Eid al-Adha or Festival of Sacrifice, on the outskirts of Cairo September 29, 2014. Birqash Camel Market, one of the biggest markets for camel meat in Africa, draws sellers from Libya, Sudan, Somalia and other regions in Egypt. The camels sold at the market are also used in tourism. Traders say that the selling rate for a camel in 2014 is anywhere between 5,000 and 20,000 Egyptian pounds (700 – 2800 USD). (Photo by Amr Abdallah Dalsh/Reuters)

In this September 30, 2013 photo, farmers wait for customers next to their 1950s Chevrolet loaded with garlic for sale at the 114th Street Market on the outskirts of Havana, Cuba. The market s bustle is a result of economic reforms begun in 2010 by President Raul Castro, which includes relaxing rules on private farming. (Photo by Ramon Espinosa/AP Photo)

A potential bidder carefully examines pieces of Tuna in order to ascertain the quality and to estimate its price ahead of the Tuna auction at the Tsukiji fish market on February 28, 2012 in Tokyo, Japan. (Photo by Daniel Berehulak /Getty Images)

A pigeon stretches its wings in the Ka Faroshi bird market in Kabul on July 16, 2022. (Photo by Lillian Suwanrumpha/AFP Photo)

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)