BEIJING -- The world's tallest man, China's Bao Xishun, has become a father but his normal-sized son could have trouble filling his Dad's big shoes.

Bao, who stands 2.36 meters (seven feet nine inches) tall, and his wife, Xia Shujun, celebrated the birth of the boy last week in the northern province of Hebei, Xinhua news agency said.

The baby, named "Tianyou", weighed in at 4.2 kilograms (9.3 pounds) and was 56 centimeters (22 inches) long, slightly taller than most Chinese newborns, it said.

Bao, a herdsman from the Inner Mongolia region of northern China, captured the hearts of many worldwide two years ago when he launched a search for a bride who would measure up.

After a lifetime as a bachelor, Bao, who is a celebrity in China, heard back from more than 20 interested women from across the country.

His search ended in July 2007, when after a one-month courtship, he married Xia, who barely reaches his elbow and who, at 29, is about half Bao's age.

Bao is believed to be 56.

The gentle giant also made headlines in 2006 when he was called upon to use his long arms to pull plastic rubbish from the stomachs of two ailing dolphins at an aquarium in northeastern China.

Bao was confirmed in 2006 by the Guinness Book of World Records as the world's tallest living man.

He lost his title last year to Leonid Stadnyk of Ukraine, whose height was certified by a local doctor as a whopping 2.53 meters.

However, Bao has since been reinstated after Stadnyk refused to be measured by an official adjudicator.