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Many investors have been attracted to the fast growth of Shanghai's "booming" stock market. But little have many investors understood the market's vulnerabilies, or forseen its descent. ZHANG: To many, it seemed like a one-way bet as Shanghai's stock market has grown in the past few years. New investors ranging from taxi drivers to factory workers dumped money into stocks in a bid to cash in on the new capitalist structure. But that dream has recently gone sour. Shanghai's benchmark index has sunk by 40 percent so far this year, leaving investors dazed. Although some analysts had warned that the market would fall, many of China's newest market players did not believe that the party would end. Undergradutate student Lu Yi borrowed $1400 from his parents to invest in the market. Today, he is less than pleased. [Lu Yi, 22-year-old stock investor]: "In January, I went on a mountain-climbing expedition so I did not pay much attention to the market. When I came back, I was shocked at how bad the stock market was. So I felt it was not an appropriate time for me to sell my holdings and I waited for a rebound to decide whether I should stay or leave the stock market, but the market did not even give me a chance." There's no question that the Shanghai market is one of the more volatile indexes in Asia. China analyst Jason Ma says that one cause of the market's unpredictability is the Chinese regime's unwillingness to let the market operate more freely. [Jason Ma, China Analyst]: "At the very beginning, they want to get the money from the stock market, but they don't want to lose control of those companies. So they set about 70% of the stocks aside which can't be used in the market. They only put 30% of the companies in the market. In this way, for all the companies, it is very really difficult to evaluate the value." According to Ma, the uncertainty over the true value of companies is not the only reason for disturbances in the market. He says that because of the lack of freedom and transparency in the market, Chinese investors are caught in a cycle of speculation. [Jason Ma, China Analyst]: "In Western countries, basically, people consider the market--many people consider the market--a long term investment. It is something that will have a better return than putting money in the savings account. But in China, generally speaking, Chinese consider the market as a gambling place, because the Chinese regime they totally control the market, and there is a lot of uncertainty in the market and the market is not really reflecting the progress of the social economy." Ma says that this mentality of short-term speculation only amplifies the volatility of the market. And it can be brutal for those who jump in when the market looks hot. Once a maid to a foreign family in Shanghai, Xue Qiaozhen invested all her money in the market--only to see her savings wiped out. [Xue Qiaozhen, 55-year-old stock investor]: "With such huge swings in gains and losses, I feel the stock market is not healthy. It is like we get up to heaven and then fall down to earth so quickly, some stock investors cannot take this. A lot of us are trapped now." Chinese authorities have recently cut taxes on share trading in an attempt to encourage a rebound in the market. But for those left with no money, there is now no appetite for fresh bets in listed companies.