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)

Juno, a Beluga whale, greets a young viewer at the Mystic aquarium in Connecticut, USA on December 5, 2015. (Photo by Tim Clayton/Corbis)

Contestants compete in the swimsuit segment of the Miss Venezuela 2016 pageant in Caracas, Venezuela October 5, 2016. (Photo by Marco Bello/Reuters)

Afghan men work in a small sweets factory in Kabul, Afghanistan January 5, 2017. (Photo by Mohammad Ismail/Reuters)

A Sumatran Owl is seen in Palembang City, Indonesia on March 5, 2020. (Photo by Sigit Prasetya/Opn Images/Barcroft Media via Getty Images)

A woman dressed in traditional clothing visits a business street in Beijing on June 5, 2024. (Photo by Wang Zhao/AFP Photo)

A painted stork eats a fish as it is pictured in the Delhi Zoo in New Delhi on December 5, 2024. (Photo by Sajjad Hussain/AFP Photo)

A cow sits on an empty beach near Barbate, in Cadiz province, south of Spain, Saturday, February 5, 2022. (Photo by Emilio Morenatti/AP Photo)