Bao Xishun - Fame

Fame

At the age of 45, he became withdrawn after the death of his mother until he was offered a job as a greeter at a restaurant. He quickly gained attention from the local media, who applied to Guinness World Records on his behalf. He was measured and found to be 2 mm taller than the previous record holder, Radhouane Charbib.

In December 2006, Bao Xishun was asked by veterinarians to assist them in removing shards of plastic from the stomachs of two dolphins. The dolphins had accidentally swallowed the shards, which had settled in their stomachs and caused a loss of appetite and depression. Veterinarians had failed to remove them, so Bao Xishun used his 1.06-metre long arms to reach into the dolphins' stomachs, to remove the plastic manually. (A similar operation was performed by American basketball player Clifford Ray, who was asked to use his long arms to save a California dolphin in 1978.)

Bao Xishun married saleswoman Xia Shujuan on March 24, 2007. The Mongolian ceremony (sponsored by at least 15 companies) took place on July 12, 2007 at the Genghis Khan holiday resort on the grasslands near Ordos City. Bao's surname indicates that he belongs to the same paternal lineage as Genghis Khan's clan, Borjigin. Amongst the guests was fellow Inner-Mongolian and the shortest man in the world, He Pingping.

Xishun's daughter was born at a hospital in Zunhua, Hebei province October 2, 2008.

Bao appeared on the eleventh episode of The Amazing Race 16 as the pitstop greeter. The episode aired on May 2, 2010. He was considered to be the world's tallest man at the time of filming, but a few days later, Sultan Kösen was measured by the Guinness Book of World Records and declared to be the tallest.