[1] He was born in a small town near Bayan County, Harbin in Heilongjiang Province, China.

In 2009, he returned to China to play for the Beijing Ducks in the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA).

In the summer of 2005, Sun discovered that he had a benign tumor attached to his pituitary gland.

[citation needed] On 4 August 2013, he married Xu Yan, who is 6 feet 2 inches (1.88 m) tall.

They are recognized by Guinness World Records as the tallest living married couple with their combined height of 13 feet 10.72 inches (423.47 cm).