Meet the mum-and-pop investors of China's stock market

The Chinese stock markets were hit by a $2.8 trillion market rout earlier this year that Wall Street analysts say will reverberate through the global economy for months to come.

But in China, it wasn't the big banks or brokerage firms that absorbed the brunt of the financial shock.

It was the "mum-and-pop" investors: pensioners, students, security guards and electricians, most with limited knowledge of their stock market. They make up 80% of all transactions on the Chinese market.

Reuters photographer Aly Song traveled through Shanghai during the time, capturing the moments of these ordinary Chinese investors as they go about their daily lives.

It's a surprisingly intimate portrait of a nonexclusive community.

They gather at parks, play cards at the brokerage firm, or rally around a computer screen hitched on a bike to check stocks.

And despite losses in the stock market, many are still optimistic they'll win it back, or express confidence in the communist party's directions.

So scroll down to meet a few of these investors, who range from 16 to 90-years-old with occupations just as varied.

Captions and information regarding the traders comes from Reuters and Aly Song.