SHANGHAI, July 13 -- THE world's tallest man married a woman two-thirds his size and almost half his age yesterday in a traditional Mongolian ceremony sponsored by at least 15 companies hoping to cash in on his fame.

Bao Xishun, 56, a 2.36-meter herdsman from the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, was carried to his wedding on the back of a mobile yurt pulled by camels at the Genghis Khan holiday resort on the grasslands near Erdos City.

Hundreds of people, some traveling for hours, turned up to see Bao wed saleswoman Xia Shujuan, a mere 1.68-meters tall and just 29 years old.

Draped in a shimmering blue silk coat, Bao waved to the crowd before going into an enormous yurt where guests ate lamb and cheese and watched Mongolian song and dance shows.

"If we can have children, we'll have children," Bao said before the wedding. "If not, then not. If we have a child, I hope he or she can be 1.8-1.9-meters tall. Then he or she can play basketball."

Xia said she was madly in love. "You need to have feelings for someone to be in love. Even if he is a big shot, you can't love him without feelings."

Bao was confirmed as the world's tallest living man by the Guinness Book of World Records last year. He overtook the previous holder, Radhouane Charbib of Tunisia, by just 2mm.

Bao put out marriage advertisements around the world, but ended up wedding somebody from his home town, Chifeng.

Bao and his wife were legally married in March, but wanted to also have an authentic Mongolian ceremony.

After a career in the army, where he was recruited for a basketball team, he returned to Inner Mongolia. He now herds livestock and hires himself out for publicity stunts.

Because of his fame, Inner Mongolia decided to turn the wedding into a branding event.

Everything from the liquor drunk at the wedding to the shoes Bao wore were sponsored by a different company.

One firm made a 2.9-meter blanket of camel hair just for the marriage.