In 2007, a global vote involving more than 100 million people named seven structures as the New Seven Wonders of the World — chosen from 21 finalists spanning history and every inhabited continent.
Humans have always built things that seem to go beyond what is needed: walls that cross mountains, cities carved into cliffs, tombs of marble. In 2007, a worldwide vote chose seven of these structures as the New Seven Wonders of the World. This article explains how the vote worked, where each wonder is, who built it, how it was made and what keeps it standing, with maps, a timeline, worked examples and practice questions.
Ancient and modern wonders · how the 2007 vote worked · where the wonders are · a timeline · the seven wonders in depth · protecting them · four worked examples · key terms · common mistakes · practice questions and a quiz.
Many people mix up two different lists. The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World were a list made by Greek writers, naming seven remarkable works around the Mediterranean and the Near East: the Great Pyramid of Giza, the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, the Statue of Zeus at Olympia, the Temple of Artemis at Ephesus, the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus, the Colossus of Rhodes and the Lighthouse of Alexandria. Of these, only the Great Pyramid of Giza still stands. Historians are not certain that the Hanging Gardens of Babylon existed as described.
The New Seven Wonders of the World are different. They were chosen by a public vote, announced on 7 July 2007, and they come from four different continents. This article is about that second list.
The vote was organised by the New7Wonders Foundation, a private organisation founded by the Swiss-born Bernard Weber. It was not organised by UNESCO (the United Nations body that looks after World Heritage Sites) or by any government.
A fair warning. Because anyone could vote, and some countries ran strong campaigns, the result tells us what was popular, not what is scientifically "greatest". UNESCO did not endorse the vote. This is a good reminder to ask who organised a ranking and how it was done. Other 2007 finalists included the Acropolis, the Alhambra, Angkor, the Eiffel Tower, Hagia Sophia, the Statue of Liberty, Stonehenge, the Sydney Opera House and Timbuktu, which are all worth visiting, too.
| Wonder | Where | When | Built by | Main materials |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Great Wall of China | Northern China | From the 7th century BC; the best-known sections are Ming (1368–1644) | Many Chinese states and dynasties | Rammed earth, stone, brick |
| Petra | Southern Jordan | Flourished from about the 4th century BC; annexed by Rome in AD 106 | The Nabataeans | Sandstone cliffs, carved |
| Colosseum | Rome, Italy | Begun about AD 70–72; opened AD 80 | The Flavian emperors (Vespasian and Titus) | Concrete, travertine stone, tuff |
| Chichen Itza | Yucatán, Mexico | Main city about AD 600–1200 | The Maya | Limestone |
| Machu Picchu | Andes, Peru | About 1450 | The Inca (under Pachacuti) | Fitted granite stone |
| Taj Mahal | Agra, India | From about 1632; mausoleum about 1643, whole complex about 1653 | Mughal emperor Shah Jahan | White marble with inlaid stones |
| Christ the Redeemer | Rio de Janeiro, Brazil | 1922–1931 | Brazilian engineers with French sculptors | Reinforced concrete, soapstone |
The seven wonders lie across four continents. The map plots each one by its latitude (distance north or south of the equator) and longitude (distance east or west of the prime meridian). Coastlines are left out, so the dots show positions on the grid.
The oldest parts of the Great Wall and the newest wonder, Christ the Redeemer, are about 2,600 years apart. The chart shows when each structure was built, or when it flourished, on the same time scale.
The Great Wall is not one wall but a series of walls and fortifications built by different states and dynasties over about two thousand years. Around 220 BC, the first emperor Qin Shi Huang joined earlier walls together, and the Ming dynasty (1368–1644) later built the strong brick-and-stone sections that most visitors see today. The walls were meant to slow invaders from the north, and to control movement and trade. Along them stand watchtowers, garrison forts and signal towers. A Chinese government survey published in 2012 estimated that all the wall sections from different periods add up to about 21,000 km, though only a part remains in good condition.
Myth check. It is often said that the Great Wall can be seen from space with the naked eye. Astronauts have reported that it is very hard or impossible to see this way, because the wall is long but narrow.
Petra was the capital of the Nabataeans, an Arab people who grew rich by controlling trade routes for goods such as incense and spices. The city lies in a desert valley and is entered through the Siq, a narrow gorge about 1.2 km long. At its end appears Al-Khazneh, the "Treasury", a grand front carved straight into the rock. Petra's builders also created channels, dams and cisterns to catch and store scarce water, which made life in the desert possible. After trade routes shifted and the region came under Roman rule, the city declined. It became widely known in Europe again in 1812, when the Swiss explorer Johann Ludwig Burckhardt visited it, although local people had always known it. Petra became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1985.
The Colosseum, officially the Flavian Amphitheatre, was started under Emperor Vespasian and opened in AD 80 under his son Titus. It is an oval building about 188 m long and 156 m wide, and its outer wall rose to roughly 48 m. It could hold around 50,000 spectators, though estimates differ. Events included gladiator contests, animal hunts and public shows. Its builders used concrete, a Roman specialty, together with travertine stone. Features included about 80 entrances for fast crowd movement, a cloth awning (the velarium) operated by sailors to shade the seats, and a network of tunnels and lifts under the arena floor. Over the centuries, earthquakes and stone-robbing damaged it, but a large part remains.
Chichen Itza was a major Maya city on the flat limestone Yucatán Peninsula, where natural sinkholes called cenotes provided fresh water. The name is commonly translated as "at the mouth of the well of the Itza". Its landmark is El Castillo, the Temple of Kukulkan, a stepped pyramid about 30 m high with nine terraces. Each of its four sides has a staircase of 91 steps. Counting the platform at the top as one more step gives 4 × 91 + 1 = 365, matching the days of the year, which is thought to reflect the Maya interest in astronomy and calendars. The city also has the largest ball court found in Mesoamerica, about 168 m long. Visitors are no longer allowed to climb El Castillo.
Machu Picchu sits on a mountain ridge about 2,430 m above sea level, in the Andes. It was built around 1450, probably as a royal estate for the Inca ruler Pachacuti. Its builders cut stone blocks so exactly that they fit together without mortar, and they shaped the mountainside into terraces that were used for farming and also helped drain rainwater, which protects the buildings. The site was left behind not long after the Spanish conquest. It was brought to world attention in 1911 by the American explorer Hiram Bingham, though local farmers had known of it. It became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1983. Because of heavy tourism, the number of daily visitors is now limited.
The Taj Mahal in Agra is a mausoleum, a tomb, built by the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan for his wife Mumtaz Mahal, who died in 1631. Construction began around 1632, the main building was finished around 1643 and the whole complex around 1653, using a very large workforce; traditional accounts mention about 20,000 workers. It is made of white marble inlaid with coloured stones and decorated with calligraphy. The design is almost perfectly symmetrical: a central dome, four minarets and a formal garden divided into four parts, set beside the Yamuna River. The marble can look different at different times of day. Air pollution has threatened to yellow the stone, and the authorities have restricted traffic and industry around it. It became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1983.
A Pakistan connection. Shah Jahan's reign also produced major buildings in Lahore, including the Shalimar Gardens, laid out in 1641–42, and additions to the Lahore Fort, both UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
The statue stands on Corcovado mountain above Rio de Janeiro. It is about 30 m tall, on a pedestal of about 8 m, and its outstretched arms span about 28 m. It was built between 1922 and 1931 and opened in October 1931. The Brazilian engineer Heitor da Silva Costa led the design with the French sculptor Paul Landowski and other engineers. A core of reinforced concrete (concrete strengthened with steel bars) forms the structure, and it is covered with thousands of small soapstone tiles. Because it stands on a high peak, the statue is hit by lightning from time to time. It is also the youngest of the seven, so it shows that the list includes modern engineering as well as ancient work.
Old structures face many threats: weather and earthquakes, air pollution, and the footsteps of millions of visitors. Tourism brings income and jobs, but too many visitors can wear down stone and steps. This is why sites introduce ticket limits, restrict climbing and spend money on repairs. UNESCO's World Heritage list helps by encouraging countries to protect important places, though the countries themselves are responsible for looking after them.
Question: How many years passed between the start of the Taj Mahal (about 1632) and the completion of Christ the Redeemer (1931)? And how old is the Colosseum (opened AD 80) in 2026?
Step 1. Subtract the earlier year from the later one: 1931 − 1632 = 299.
Step 2. For the Colosseum, subtract: 2026 − 80 = 1,946.
Answer: About 299 years apart; the Colosseum is about 1,946 years old in 2026.
Question: El Castillo has 91 steps on each of 4 sides, plus one top step. What is the total?
Step 1. Multiply: 4 × 91 = 364.
Step 2. Add the top step: 364 + 1 = 365.
Answer: 365, the same as the number of days in a (non-leap) year.
Question: 21 finalists were chosen from 77 candidates, and 7 winners were picked from the 21. What percentage of finalists won?
Step 1. Winners ÷ finalists = 7 ÷ 21 = 1/3.
Step 2. Convert: 1/3 ≈ 0.333, so about 33%.
Extra: Finalists ÷ candidates = 21 ÷ 77 ≈ 0.27, so about 27%.
Answer: About one-third of finalists became winners.
Question: Which wonders are in the Southern Hemisphere?
Step 1. Look at the map: the equator is the line at 0° latitude. Points below it have south latitude.
Step 2. Machu Picchu is at about 13° S and Christ the Redeemer is at about 23° S.
Answer: Machu Picchu (Peru) and Christ the Redeemer (Brazil). The other five are north of the equator.
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Mausoleum | A large building made as a tomb |
| Amphitheatre | An oval or round open-air building with seats around a central arena |
| Citadel | A fortified city or fortress, often on high ground |
| Terrace | A flat step cut into a slope, used for farming or building |
| Cenote | A natural limestone sinkhole filled with water |
| Reinforced concrete | Concrete strengthened with steel bars |
| World Heritage Site | A place listed by UNESCO as having outstanding value for all humanity |
| Dynasty | A line of rulers from the same family |
Millions of people visit the Taj Mahal, the Colosseum, Machu Picchu and the other wonders every year, and tourism supports jobs in hotels, guiding, transport and conservation. At Machu Picchu, a daily limit on visitors and timed entry help protect the site, which shows how a famous place can balance sharing its heritage with protecting it.
Try each question first, then tap it to reveal the answer.
The New7Wonders Foundation, a private organisation, organised it. The winners were announced on 7 July 2007.
The Great Pyramid of Giza, which was an honorary candidate.
The Taj Mahal, built by Shah Jahan for his wife Mumtaz Mahal.
The Nabataeans. They built channels, dams and cisterns to catch and store water.
4 × 91 + 1 = 365.
It is a network of walls built by different states and dynasties over about two thousand years.
Suggested activities: ask students to find each wonder on a world map using the latitude and longitude on the map above; build a model of El Castillo from paper or cardboard and count the steps; hold a classroom debate on "Should a ranking of world wonders be decided by public vote?" Dates and measurements for ancient structures are approximate, and sources sometimes differ, so the article uses "about" and "around". This article is general education for students up to age 18.
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