The Ancient Wonders of the world are so, well, ancient. If you want to see the best of what the world has to offer, here's a quick guide to the New7Wonders of the world, as voted by millions last year…

Great Wall of China, China
Perhaps unsurprisingly, the Great Wall of China made it onto the New7Wonders list with ease. Stretching over 6500 kilometres from Shanhaiguan in the east to Lop Nur in the west, the Wall easily ranks as one of the most impressive, if not all that mysterious, monuments ever built by man.

Obviously reckoning that good walls make good neighbours, the stone and earthen fortifications were built and rebuilt from 500 BC right through to the 16th century to protect the northern borders of the Chinese Empire during the rule of successive dynasties. At the height of the dynasties it’s said that the Wall was guarded by more than one million men. That pales in comparison with the two to three million Chinese said to have died during the centuries of construction.

Travel trivia: the jury is still out on one of the greatest pieces of Chappies trivia ever written: that the Great Wall of China is clearly visible from space with the naked eye. Neil Armstrong says it isn’t, while veteran astronaut Gene Cernan says he’s spotted it. The truth, it seems, is that if it’s a perfectly clear day and you know exactly where to look, you may just spy a faint outline.

Petra, Jordan
Famously described as "a rose-red city half as old as time", the ruins of Petra in south-western Jordan are a testament to what can be achieved with rock and a chisel. 'Discovered' by Swiss explorer Johann Ludwig Burckhardt in 1812, the ruins of Petra are without doubt one of the most impressive monuments in the Arab world.

Almost completely enclosed by towering pillars of sandstone and watered by a perennial stream, Petra rose to prominence thanks to its fortified position and control of the main commercial routes which passed by it en route to Gaza, Damascus, the Red Sea and across the desert to the Arabian Gulf. Location is one thing, but it was also the skill of the Nabataeans in controlling and damming the regular flash floods to create an artificial oasis that allowed the desert city to rise from the sands.

Approaching from the famous eastern entrance, the path leads steeply down through a dark and narrow gorge called the Siq (‘the shaft’) that is often just a few metres wide. A natural geological feature formed from a deep split in the sandstone rocks, this narrow gorge ends in front of Petra’s most elaborate ruin; Al Khazneh (‘The Treasury’) which is carved straight out of the sandstone cliff. Breath-taking. No wonder the series of ruins were designated a World Heritage Site in 1985.

Travel tip: Don’t forget to take along lots of water and wear good walking shoes, as it’s a long slog from the entrance to where the good stuff starts. Get there as early as possible  so you can miss the worst of the heat, avoid the crowds and be first to bargain for a camel ride back up the long hill.

The Statue of Christ the Redeemer, Brazil
Rio de Janeiro may be famous for bikinis, samba, Carnaval and the home of that sultry ‘Girl from Ipanema’, but if there’s a single image that defines Rio it is the Statue of Christ the Redeemer towering above the city that will burn itself into your memory.

Standing 39.6-metres tall, weighing 700 tons and perched at the top of the 700-m Corcovado Mountain (better known as ‘Sugarloaf Peak’) in the Tijuca Forest National Park overlooking the city, the statue could easily have looked very different. When the idea for a monument was first mooted in 1921, designs considered for the ‘Statue of the Christ’ included a Christian cross and Jesus with a globe in his hands.

The statue with open arms got the nod though, and after five years of construction and $250 000 (raised by donations from Brazilian Catholics), the concrete and soapstone monument raised its arms above the sun-worshippers on Copacabana below. In October 2006, on the statue’s 75th anniversary, a small chapel was consecrated beneath it allowing Catholics to be baptised and married below the Redeemer.

Travel tip: Want to combine your statue with some samba? The Samba Parade is the highlight of the annual Rio Carnival, which kicks off on the Saturday before Lent and lasts until Shrove Tuesday.

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