If you're any kind of a China watcher you know that the average Chinese Joe has started investing in the stock market in China in incredible proportions in the last few years. Maw and Paw Lee have taken their renminbi out from under the futon and begun investing it.

The real surge in stock trading among everyday Chinese citizens is about a year old now. So with such a brief history market involvement and so little experience with stocks, how do average Chinese citizens make investment decisions? By using some of the same folk beliefs that help make other everyday decisions.

They look companies with the number eight in their names (or in their share price, or ticker symbol), because the Chinese word for eight sounds like the word for "wealth" (also translated "fortune"). They stay away from companies with four in their names, share price, or ticker symbol because four sounds like death. And they like stocks that are associated with the color red - the color of prosperity in Chinese culture.

So, anyone thought of starting a Super8 in Beijing?