People attend in costume the 2022 New York Comic Con, at the Jacob Javits Convention Center in Manhattan in New York City, New York, U.S., October 6, 2022. (Photo by Brendan McDermid/Reuters)

A Ukrainian servicewoman fires a 2S7 Pion self-propelled gun at a position, as Russia's attack on Ukraine continues, on a frontline in Kherson region, Ukraine on November 9, 2022. (Photo by Viacheslav Ratynskyi/Reuters)

A Los Angeles County Fire helicopter flies over during the “Skirball Fire” which began early morning in Bel-Air, California, USA, 06 December 2017. An outbreak of several fires North of Los Angeles has occurred as one of the strongest Santa Ana winds forecast of the season is ongoing and expected to last several days. (Photo by John Cetrino/EPA/EFE)

Animal rights activist, stained with fake blood, perform during a protest against the use of animal skins in the clothes and fashion industry, in Madrid, Sunday, December 10, 2017. (Photo by Francisco Seco/AP Photo)

Locals sort through garbage at a roadside dump in New Delhi on January 10, 2017 The national capital has been reeling under tonnes of garbage after sanitation workers went on a strike demanding payment of pending salaries. (Photo by Chandan Khanna/AFP Photo)

A girl is splashed with water by boys following a Polish Wet Easter Monday tradition, in Wilamowice, Poland, Monday, April. 17, 2017. (Photo by Jarek Praszkiewicz/AP Photo)

A woman walks in front of an art installation made of artificial fruits and vegetables during the “Moscow Autumn” festival in central Moscow, September 14, 2015. (Photo by Maxim Zmeyev/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)