Key Takeaways on the New 7 Wonders of the World:
The Great Wall of China stretches for 5,500 miles across parts of northern China.
Machu Picchu is a citadel that sits about 8,000 feet in elevation in the Andes of southern Peru.
Chichén Itzá was a major city in the Maya Late Classic period, but in the Postclassic period starting in 900 A.D., the site changed.
The ancient Nabateans built parts of their capital city, Petra, right into the rock faces of cliffs in southwestern Jordan.
The work on the towering statue symbol of Rio de Janeiro on Cristo Redentor was completed in 1931, making it the most recently built of the new seven wonders.
The Colosseum was built starting in 72 A.D. and today, it stands strong as the rest of ancient Rome lies in rubble.
The Taj Mahal was completed in 1648 after 17 years of construction in Agra.
Given that only one of the original ancient seven wonders of the world survives today, a Swiss foundation began a worldwide vote to choose seven new seven wonders of the world in 2001.
More than 100 million votes were counted on a list of 21 final candidates that a panel of experts chose. Prominent snubs included such amazing structures at Angkor Wat in Cambodia, Stonehenge, and the Moai statues of Easter Island. Even the Great Pyramid of Giza didn’t make the cut this time around.
