Investors poured ice water on the red-hot Chinese stock market this past week, but it is still much steamier than even veteran China watchers thought it would be. 

The Shanghai Composite Index has fallen 19% from its 2015 peak, bringing it within a whisker of bear-market territory. Nevertheless, it is still up 30% this year and 106% the past 12 months.

"If someone had told me a year ago that the Chinese market would be up more than 100%, I would have laughed," says Sammy Simnegar,manager of the Fidelity International Capital Appreciation Fund.

Will the once-roaring market resume its rise? There are plausible arguments for it to do so. China still is the fastest-growing major nation on the planet, despite recent slowdowns. Its central bank has cut interest rates three times since November. Wages are rising, and the nation soon may open its domestic stock market more widely to international investors.