世界新七大奇迹vs旧八大奇迹(英文版)

New 7 Wonders vs. Ancient 7 Wonders

New: Christ the Redeemer Statue

Photograph by Samba Photo/Photonica/Getty Images

The 105-foot-tall (38-meter-tall) "Christ the Redeemer" statue in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, was among the "new seven wonders of the world" announced July 7 following a global poll to decide a new list of human-made marvels.

The winners were voted for by Internet and phone, American Idol style. The other six new wonders are the Colosseum in Rome, India's Taj Mahal, the Great Wall of China, Jordan's ancient city of Petra, the Inca ruins of Machu Picchu in Peru, and the ancient Maya city of Chichén Itzá in Mexico.

The contest was organized by the New7Wonders Foundation—the brainchild of Swiss filmmaker and museum curator Bernard Weber—in order to "protect humankind's heritage across the globe." The foundation says the poll attracted almost a hundred million votes.

Yet the competition has proved controversial, drawing criticism from the United Nations' cultural organization UNESCO, which administers the World Heritage sites program (pictures of the newest World Heritage sites).

"This initiative cannot, in any significant and sustainable manner, contribute to the preservation of sites elected by [the] public," UNESCO said in a statement.

New: Great Wall of China

Photograph by Raymond K. Gehman/National Geographic/Getty Images

This newly elected world wonder was built along China's northern border over many centuries to keep out invading Mongol tribes.

Constructed between the fifth century B.C. and the 16th century, the Great Wall is the world's longest human-made structure, stretching some 4,000 miles (6,400 kilometers). The best known section was built around 200 B.C. by the first emperor of China, Qin Shi Huang Di.

The wall was among the winners of the New7Wonders poll announced during a televised ceremony in Lisbon, Portugal. However the Chinese state

broadcaster chose not to broadcast the event, and Chinese state heritage officials refused to endorse the competition.

It was a different story for some of the other candidates. In Brazil, for example, President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva encouraged his compatriots to vote for Rio de Janeiro's mountaintop statue of Jesus Christ.

New: The Colosseum, Rome, Italy

Photograph by John Lawrence/Photographers Choice/Getty Images

The only finalist from Europe to make it into the top seven—the Colosseum in Rome, Italy—once held up to 50,000 spectators who came to watch gory games involving gladiators, wild animals, and prisoners.

Construction began around A.D. 70 under Emperor Vespasian. Modern sports stadiums still resemble the Colosseum's famous design.

European sites that didn't make the cut include Stonehenge in the United Kingdom, the Acropolis in Athens, Greece, and the Eiffel Tower in Paris, France.