AFTER searching high and low, the world's tallest man has married a woman two-thirds his height, a newspaper reported yesterday (Mar 28).

Bao Xishun, a 2.36-meter-tall herdsman from Inner Mongolia, married saleswoman Xia Shujuan, who is 1.68 meters tall, several days ago, the Beijing News reported yesterday.

Bao's 28-year-old bride is half his age and hails from his hometown of Chifeng even though marriage advertisements were sent around the world, it said.

Xia now works in a shopping mall in Chifeng and they got to know each other about a month ago.

"After a long and careful selection, the effort has been finally paid off," the newspaper said.

Bao was confirmed last year by the Guinness Book of World Records as the world's tallest person. He was in the news in December after he used his long arms to save two dolphins by pulling plastic out from their stomachs.

The dolphins became sick after nibbling on plastic from the edge of their pool at an aquarium in Liaoning Province. Attempts to use surgical instruments to remove the plastic failed because the dolphins' stomachs contracted in response to the instruments, according to media reports.

Editor: Wing