Farmers look at screens showing stock information at a village in Xingping city, North China's Shaanxi province, June 1, 2015. (Photo/CFP)
(ECNS) -- Over 100 people from the same village in Shaanxi province are seeking their fortune on the well-hyped stock market; most attending to both farm work and stocks at the same time.
Nanliu village in Xingping city, Shaanxi province, is home to 830 households and more than 4,300 people, most of whom are apple farmers.
The age of these investors spans from 27 years to 60 plus years old, with the majority being middle-aged. The highest individual investment is rumored to be as high as 1 million yuan (about $161,400).
In order to catch the 9 a.m. stock market opening, villagers rise exceptionally early to take care of their farm work in advance, giving them the freedom to return to their farms when the market closes in the afternoon. However, between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m., they sit in front of their computers to closely follow market conditions.
"It is too hot during the day in summer. People get sunstroke working in the heat. I can follow the stock market while I cool down in the middle of the day," said Liu Jian, an investor from Nanliu village. Thought people used to play Mahjong for fun, stocks are now the hot topic.
"Investing in stocks is like farming. You can't rush it," said Liu Junhang, another investor. "When you should wait, you wait. When you should sell, you sell."
Despite the stock market hype, none of them would totally give up their farming jobs. "Investing in stocks is only a secondary source of income. No investor would give up farming," said one female investor.
