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)

Nguyen Manh Quan (top), 26, a civil servant, carries a girl using his throat area as he performs during a showcase of the traditional Thien Mon Dao kung fu at Du Xa Thuong village, southeast of Hanoi, Vietnam May 10, 2015. Thien Mon Dao, a traditional Vietnamese martial art, was formed by 18th century villagers in Du Xa Thuong village, who believed the art form could help improve health as well as fight against foreign invaders. There are currently about 3,000 practitioners including farmers, industry workers and state servants. These practitioners say they are able to bend metal against their bodies and carry heavy objects using their throats, eyes or tongues, as well as run across the surface of a river, according to Thien Mon Dao kung fu master Nguyen Khac Phan. (Photo by Reuters/Kham)

Rita Ora performs an intimate gig at the newly relaunched Tezenis store at Oxford Circus crossing to celebrate her recent lingerie collaboration with Tezenis on December 13, 2016 in London, England (Photo by David M. Benett/Dave Benett/Getty Images for Tezenis)

American rapper Amala Ratna Zandile Dlamini, known professionally as Doja Cat, says “alright” before declaring she's quitting music in the last decade of March 2022. (Photo by dojacat/Instagram)

Hot air balloons are displayed during an exhibition, in Caracas, Venezuela, 09 December 2022. The Government of Venezuela inaugurated an international transport exhibition to attract investment for a sector that has almost been paralyzed for the past five years but has begun to show signs of recovery this year. Venezuela has one of the most obsolete vehicle fleets in Latin America.. (Photo by Miguel Gutierrez/EPA/EFE)

A woman carrying a bundle on her head wait in line to cross the border into Colombia through the Simon Bolivar bridge in San Antonio del Tachira, Venezuela, Sunday, July 17, 2016. Tens of thousands of Venezuelans crossed the border into Colombia on Sunday to hunt for food and medicine that are in short supply at home. It's the second weekend in a row that Venezuela’s government has opened the long-closed border connecting Venezuela to Colombia. (Photo by Ariana Cubillos/AP Photo)

Actress Emma Stone (L) compares her Lego Oscar statuette with actress Julianne Moore's genuine Oscar for best leading actress for her role in “Still Alice” at the Governors Ball following the 87th Academy Awards in Hollywood, California February 22, 2015. (Photo by Mario Anzuoni/Reuters)

Actress Kristen Schaal attends the 21st Annual Critics' Choice Awards at Barker Hangar on January 17, 2016 in Santa Monica, California. (Photo by Christopher Polk/Getty Images for The Critics' Choice Awards)