China

New Seven Wonders of the World is a project that attempts to revive the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World concept with a list of modern wonders. A popularity poll was organized by the private New7Wonders Foundation, with winners announced on July 7, 2007 in Lisbon, Portugal.
Bernard Weber, president of the New7Wonders Foundation, called the voting for the New 7 Wonders of the World, the first worldwide democratic exercise in mankind’s history.  In 2007 the foundation has begun a similar contest, called New Seven Wonders of Nature, with nominees solicited through December 31, 2008. The 21 finalists will then be the subject of voting until the summer of 2010.
The origin of the idea of seven wonders of the world dates back to Herodotus (484 BC – 425 BC) and Callimachus (305 BC – 240 BC), who made lists which included the Great Pyramid of Giza, Hanging Gardens of Babylon, Statue of Zeus at Olympia, Temple of Artemis at Ephesus, Mausoleum of Maussollos at Halicarnassus, Colossus of Rhodes and Lighthouse of Alexandria. Only the Great Pyramid of Giza is still standing. The other six were destroyed by earthquake, fire, or other causes.
Organisers stated that the primary goal of the campaign is to foster and encourage global exchange and intercultural appreciation. In addition, what New7Wonders calls “Global Memory” was created, meaning 7 things that everyone worldwide can remember and share.  Also New7Wonders wants to use part of the revenue from the contest between the well-known monuments, from future votes, related merchandise, and use of the voters database, to set up, or contribute to, various restoration projects in the world. A goal of New7Wonders has always been “raising awareness about the world’s unique cultural heritage sites. continue