Garbage pickers collect ride on donkey cart while looking for recyclable materials at a rubbish dump in the outskirts of Baghdad, Iraq, August 23, 2016. Despite its huge untapped oil and gas reserves and steadily rising oil output and revenue, 23 percent of the population live below the poverty line, according to the Ministry of Planning. (Photo by Khalid al Mousily/Reuters)

Villagers gather long grass in the Mekong Delta, Vietnam in the first decade of February 2024. The grasses are used as an alternative for plastic products such as baskets. (Photo by Natnattcha Chaturapitamorn/Solent News)

Manchester City's Phil Foden celebrates after scoring his side's sixth goal during the Champions League round of 16 second leg, soccer match between Manchester City and Schalke 04 at Etihad stadium in Manchester, England, Tuesday, March 12, 2019. (Photo by Dave Thompson/AP Photo)

Children playing their smart phone during Lunar New Year's Eve celebrations at Fuk Ling Miau temple on January 28, 2025 in Yogyakarta, Indonesia. Chinese New Year, also known as Lunar New Year, will begin on January 29, 2025, marking the Year of the Snake. The celebrations, which last for approximately 15 days, are filled with traditional activities such as family gatherings, lion dances, and the exchange of red envelopes, making it a vibrant cultural event observed by Chinese communities worldwide. (Photo by Ulet Ifansasti/Getty Images)

A horse at the Great Yorkshire Show in Harrogate, UK on July 9, 2025. The county show is expecting to attract 140,000 visitors over four days. (Photo by Andrew McCaren/London News Pictures)

A couple wearing face masks rides a bicycle at a park in Seoul, South Korea, Saturday, March 7, 2020. The number of infections of the COVID-19 disease spread around the globe. (Photo by Ahn Young-joon/AP 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)