He Pingping
Encyclopedia
He Pingping was, according to the Guinness World Records
Guinness World Records
Guinness World Records, known until 2000 as The Guinness Book of Records , is a reference book published annually, containing a collection of world records, both human achievements and the extremes of the natural world...

, the world's shortest man who was able to walk.

Early and personal life

He measured 74 cm (2 ft 5 in) tall, and was the third child of a family in Huade county, in the city of Ulanqab in northern China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. He had two sisters, both of whom developed at normal rates. According to his father, He Yun, at birth He Pingping was small enough to fit in the palm of his parents' hands. When it became apparent the child was growing very slowly, doctors diagnosed the cause as the bone deformity osteogenesis imperfecta
Osteogenesis imperfecta
Osteogenesis imperfecta is a genetic bone disorder. People with OI are born with defective connective tissue, or without the ability to make it, usually because of a deficiency of Type-I collagen...

, which hinders normal bone growth and body height. He was a chain smoker.

Recognition of size

In January 2007, He was invited to take part on a television program in Tokyo, Japan. His home of Inner Mongolia is also home to Bao Xishun, who at 2.36 meters tall was recognized by Guinness as the world's tallest man until September 2009. Their televised meeting in July 2007 attracted global media attention. In May 2008 he appeared in the British Channel 4
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...

 documentary called The World's Smallest Man and Me hosted by Mark Dolan
Mark Dolan
Mark Dolan is an English comedian, writer and TV presenter. Dolan was born in Camden, North London, where he eventually returned and now lives with his wife and son.-Television:...

. In September 2008 he appeared with the world's longest-legged woman, Svetlana Pankratova
Svetlana Pankratova
Svetlana Pankratova has, according to Guinness World Records, the longest legs of any woman in the world.While she is not the world's tallest woman, her legs are long. Because her upper body is of much more typical dimensions, she is tall. She has also very large feet, size 13 / 46 .Pankratova...

, in London's Trafalgar Square
Trafalgar Square
Trafalgar Square is a public space and tourist attraction in central London, England, United Kingdom. At its centre is Nelson's Column, which is guarded by four lion statues at its base. There are a number of statues and sculptures in the square, with one plinth displaying changing pieces of...

, to publicize the release of the 2009 edition of the Guinness Book of World Records.

In 2006 Guinness World Records disallowed an application from a then fourteen-year-old Nepal
Nepal
Nepal , officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked sovereign state located in South Asia. It is located in the Himalayas and bordered to the north by the People's Republic of China, and to the south, east, and west by the Republic of India...

ese boy, Khagendra Thapa Magar
Khagendra Thapa Magar
Khagendra Thapa Magar , son of Rup Bahadur and Dhana Maya Thapa Magar, was the shortest man in the world, measuring . Formerly the shortest teenager in the world, Magar took the title of shortest man from Edward Nino Hernandez when he turned 18 on October 14, 2010. Magar is a primordial dwarf...

, who measures 53 cm but reviewed the case once he reached 18 years of age in October 2010, when he was measured at 67 cm. A Jordanian man who claims to be the world's shortest man, Younis Edwan
Younis Edwan
Younis Edwan has claimed to be the world's shortest man at 65 cm , though has not been officially measured by Guinness World Records.-References:...

, has not been officially measured by Guinness.

Following his January 2007 appearance on television, He's status as the world's shortest walking man was verified by Guinness World Records. His height was measured three times over the course of 10 hours before he received a certificate officially naming him as the world’s shortest walking man.

In September 2008, he traveled to New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

 to help launch the 2009 edition of the Guinness Book of World Records, which certified him as the world's smallest walking man.

On April 25, 2010, He was featured in the tenth episode of the 16th cycle of the American reality show, The Amazing Race
The Amazing Race 16
The Amazing Race 16 is the sixteenth installment of the reality television show The Amazing Race. The Amazing Race 16 features eleven teams of two, each with a pre-existing relationship, in a race around the world....

, filmed earlier in Shanghai
Shanghai
Shanghai is the largest city by population in China and the largest city proper in the world. It is one of the four province-level municipalities in the People's Republic of China, with a total population of over 23 million as of 2010...

. The episode was dedicated in his memory.

Death

He was admitted to a hospital on 3 March 2010 in Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...

, after complaining of chest pains. He had been filming Lo show dei record. He died on March 13, 2010, at the age of twenty-one of heart complications
Hypertensive heart disease
Hypertensive heart disease is any of a number of complications of arterial hypertension that affects the heart.-Symptoms:* Fatigue* Cardiomegaly* Irregular pulse* Swelling of feet* Weight gain* Nausea* Shortness of breath...

. The Guinness World Records editor-in-chief, Craig Glenday
Craig Glenday
Craig Glenday is the editor-in-chief of the Guinness World Records.Glenday's interest in Guinness World Records began in 1983, when he was ten, and had received the book as a gift.-Career:...

, said that he was "an inspiration to anyone considered different or unusual."
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