XI Shun, a farmer from North China’s Inner Mongolia, is applying for a new Guinness World Record as the world’s tallest healthy adult.

At 2.38 metres tall, the 53-year-old Xi Shun is 10 centimetres taller than Mu Tiezhu, a former well-known Chinese basketball player, and 12 centimetres taller than NBA star Yao Ming.

Xi is not the world’s tallest man. He is outstripped by 2.45-metre-tall Wang Fengjun, from northeastern Shenyang and a 2.53-metre man in Ukraine. These men reached their extraordinary heights by pathological growth. Xi Shun reached his extraordinary height through natural growth.

This conclusion was based on a medical check-up conducted in October, during which he underwent 22 mental and physical tests. The results showed his health is normal.

Xi said he was the same size as other kids before the age of 16. He then began to grow fast. By the age of 23, he was 2.38 metres tall.

He was recruited as a basketball player by the Beijing Military Area Command in 1973. He was not as fast as the other players and was let go in 1975. Since then, he has worked as a herdsman in his hometown of Chifeng, Inner Mongolia.

The boss of a local restaurant invited Xi to work there after his height was listed as a record in Chifeng. His employment there has turned business around. Also, several companies asked Xi to be the spokesperson for their products. A garment company offered to provide him with Western suits and specially made extra-large coats and shoes.

(Xinhua)