CHINA: The world's shortest man at work in family restaurant

Record ID: 610226

  • Title: CHINA: The world's shortest man at work in family restaurant
  • Date: 13th September 2009
  • Summary: E'ERDUOSI, INNER MONGOLIA, CHINA (FILE-2007) (REUTERS) WORLD'S TALLEST MAN BAO XISHUN HOLDING HE PINGPING'S HANDS AT BAO'S WEDDING HE PINGPING/BAO XISHUN'S FACE
  • Embargoed: 28th September 2009 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: China
  • Country: China
  • Topics: Light / Amusing / Unusual / Quirky
  • Reuters ID: LVA8RG1UOW2H55Q66B6G65Q1HA3M
  • Story Text: He Pingping is recognised by the Guinness World Records as the world's shortest man who is able to walk.
    The 22-year-old, who was born with a deformity that stunts normal growth, stands 73 cm (two feet and five inches) tall, and weighs seven kilograms.
    Born in a small village in North China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, He Pingping now lives with his two sisters, who run a small restaurant in Baotou city.
    Despite his height, He became a chain smoker when he was seven years old. He smokes at least one pack of cigarettes every day, and has refused to cut back.
    "You should quit smoking. I am not going to quit smoking. If you are not going to smoke (these cigarettes), I will," said He.
    He Pingping weighed 500g after birth, and stopped growing after he turned 18. As he was so small, his parents named him Pingping, meaning "wine bottle" in English, according to his brother-in-law Liu De'en.
    His brother-in-law, Liu, says He is really not that different.
    "He is just like a miniature of a normal person. Everything is the same as a normal person (except for his size). As for his IQ, he didn't go to school since there was no school in his village and he couldn't go to schools outside his village because of his condition," said Liu.
    Doctors had tried to test his intelligence before but failed to come up with any results, Liu added.
    He Pingping became quite a celebrity after he was crowned the world's shortest man by Guinness in 2007.
    His hometown of Inner Mongolia is also home to Bao Xishun, who measures 2.36 meters tall, and is the current holder of the world's tallest man title. Their televised meeting at Bao's wedding in July 2007 attracted global media attention.
    He Pingping had been invited to visit Japan, the United States, and met with the world's longest-legged woman Svetlana Pankratova in London last year.
    "I told his parents that he has a kind of talent, we should let more people get to know Pingping. Then I took him out of his village and applied for the Guinness Record for him," said Liu.
    He does not speak much to strangers, but at the family's small restaurant, he always helps doing some small chores, like picking up garbage or serving glasses to customers who are always amazed by their tiny host.
    When he gets tired, he finds a quiet place under a table to rest himself.
    ENDS.
  • Copyright Holder: FILE REUTERS (CAN SELL)
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2011. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
  • Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
Register