The Great Wall: new wonder of the world

The Great Wall of China was listed as one of the seven new wonders of the world in a ceremony in Lisbon, Portugal.

The list, which includes Rome's Colosseum, India's Taj Mahal, Peru's Machu Picchu, Brazil's Statue of Christ the Redeemer, Mexico's Chichen Itza pyramid and Jordan's Petra, was decided through a global poll.

The New7Wonders, a non-profit organization that conducted the poll, said that more than 100 million votes were cast over the internet and through cellphone text messages.

The campaign to find the seven new wonders was launched in 1999 by Swiss adventurer Bernard Weber. Almost 200 nominations, including the Eiffel Tower, Easter Island, the Statue of Liberty, the Acropolis and Sydney Opera House, came in. The nominations were then narrowed down to the 21 sites that received the most votes by the beginning of 2006.

According to the International Herald Tribune, the New7Wonders foundation wants to promote cultural diversity by supporting, preserving and restoring monuments. It is funded by private donations and by selling broadcasting rights.

The traditional seven wonders of the world was derived from writings by ancient Greek observers. The only surviving structures from the original seven wonders are the pyramids of Giza, which were assured of retaining their status after Egyptian officials complained about why they still had to compete.

The Great Wall is perhaps China's most recognizable landmarks. About 10 million visitors each year visit the site, which was built as a military fortification more than 2,000 years ago. It is about 6,400 km long.