
(This story was first published in 2015.)

Chinese markets have had a tortuous start to the new year, buffeted by the falling yuan and two days of stock exchange suspensions in a week.

Weak factory and service sector activity surveys have added to the mix. Facing decisions of when or whether to buy or sell are millions of mom-and-pop investors - from pensioners, to security guards, to students.

These small investors dominate China's stock markets, conducting about 80 percent of all transactions. Some are in it purely for the money. Then there are also those who trade for fun or to spend time among friends. In one of the many brokerage houses dotted around China, people gather not just to trade stocks but to enjoy the company of fellow investors, many of whom are retirees.

Trading stocks is also a hobby for 16-year-old high school student Qian Yujie. He places his orders from a desktop computer at his home in Shanghai. He began trading at the age of 13, when his father gave him 2,000 yuan ($300) to learn about stock investing. He fits trading into his schedule when he has a day off school. "I like maths and want to study finance in college and I think it's very helpful for job hunting," Qian said.

Du Mingpeng, 50, (left) a security guard at a jewellery store, hopes to profit from his investments to give money to his son. Many of the retail investors use an informal network to help decide which stocks they want to buy and sell. At the weekends in Shanghai, hundreds gather at what is locally known as the "street stock salon" near the city's landmark People's Square to exchange tips and information and listen to long-term investors talk about their experiences.

Story Wu Lin'an sells his analysis of the stock market at the "street stock salon". Small investors will need to decide whether to stand their ground, get out or buy in to stocks they believe have a chance of turning them a profit. "Further financial market volatility is likely," Moody's Investors Service said in a January 8 research note. Moody's put the market turmoil down to an inherent tension between Beijing's attempts to reform its economy and give a greater role to market forces while maintaining economic and social stability.