A decades-long search by the world's tallest man for a bride finally came to an end on Thursday when the Chinese herdsman married a woman who barely stands up to his elbow.

Bao Xishun, who stands 2.36 metres tall, wed sales clerk Xia Shujun in a traditional ceremony in the grasslands of northern China's Inner Mongolia, where both are from.

Mr Bao, 56, dressed in a sky-blue silk robe, was beaming as he sat next to his 28-year-old bride just before the nuptials were pronounced.

Ms Bau is just 1.68 metres tall, but said when her courtship with Mr Bao began early this year that their height difference was not a problem.

"Xia said that as they got to know each other she stopped noticing how tall Bao was and was moved instead by his thoughtfulness," China's official Xinhua news agency reported in March.

After a lifetime as a bachelor, Mr Bao, who is a celebrity in China, began searching for a bride last year and heard back from more than 20 interested women from across the country.