Securities market dances to its own tune

The year 1986 is seen as the beginning of China's stock trading. On September 26 that year, on a small trading floor in Shanghai, two stocks were traded - Shanghai Feilo Acoustics Co Ltd and Shanghai Yanzhong Industrial Co Ltd. Some 1,540 shares worth 85,280 yuan changed hands that day.

The drama largely took place on the street outside the exchange. A local newspaper reported hundreds of eager punters, some of whom had stood in line from the day before, gathered in No 1806 Nanjing Xilu, where the first stock trading counter was located. "The crowd almost broke down the gate in front of the counter," according to the article.

From the start, China's securities market has been dancing to its own peculiar tune that has a different flavor and tempo from those of the markets in developed countries.