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)

Winton Elementary fifth graders Juliana Ragan, from left, Chloe Windsor and Paisley Ganske wait backstage for their turn to perform as the Andrew Sisters during the Pearl Harbor/Veterans assembly at the school on Monday, December 7, 2015, in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho. Dec. 7 is the 74th anniversary of the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor. (Photo by Kathy Plonka/The Spokesman-Review via AP Photo)

A model backstage ahead of the Lantern Sense show at Fashion Scout during London Fashion Week Autumn/Winter 2016/17 at Freemasons' Hall on February 22, 2016 in London, England. (Photo by Tristan Fewings/Getty Images)

A folk artist performs a stunning fire-pot performance on October 18, 2024 in Guangzhou,Guangdong Province of China.Huohu (fire pot) is a traditional folk performance art.Performers put well-burned charcoal into iron meshes on both sides and shake the meshes up and down so that the charcoal will flare up and blazing sparks will burst out of the meshes and light up the sky just like fireworks. (Photo by John Ricky/Anadolu via Getty Images)

Models wait backstage ahead of their presentation of creations from the YINMU collection by designer Wei Jiang during the China Fashion Week in Beijing, China, 26 October 2020. The fashion event runs from 24 October to 01 November 2020. (Photo by Wu Hong/EPA/EFE)

A pupil of the Dao ethnic tribe returns home from school along a hillside path at Suoi Thau village in Hoang Su Phi district of Vietnam's northern province of Ha Giang, located at the border with China, September 18, 2015. (Photo by Reuters/Kham)

Picture of British socialite, known for her association with financier and convicted sеx offender Jeffrey Epstein Ghislaine Maxwell rubbing Jeffrey Epstein's feet (undated photo). Maxwell and Epstein were in a relationship but prosecutors allege they remained close after it ended. The photo was entered into evidence during the trial of Ghislaine Maxwell, accused of sеx trafficking, in New York City. (Photo by PA Wire Press Association)

Lightning over Mow Cop Castle which is a folly at Mow Cop in the civil parish of Odd Rode, Cheshire, UK on August 13, 2020, as thunderstorms continue during the current heatwave. (Photo by Lee Scally/Bav Media)