So Long, Forbidden City Starbucks. Help Us Pick a New Wonder.

Earlier this month, we named the Starbucks outlet in China’s Forbidden City one of the seven wonders of the shrinking planet. It was, we wrote, symbolic of both globalization and, because of the ongoing protests surrounding its near-sacred location, any nation’s struggle to maintain its cultural identity amid rapid change. But now, like the ancient wonder the statue of Zeus at Olympia,  the Forbidden City’s Starbucks outlet has bitten the dust. According to Reuters, it closed on Friday as a result of protests. The closure has left World Hum with only six viable wonders of the shrinking planet, and that’s just wrong. Now we need your help.

We need a new seventh wonder to join “Airworld,” Dubai, Google Earth/Google Maps, Manu Chao, the Northwest Passage and the California Roll.

Our criteria are simple: “places, things and people that embody intriguing ways the globe is shrinking and cultures are evolving and colliding.”

What shall our seventh wonder be?

We’ll collect any and all suggestions here through this week. We’ll announce a final decision next Monday, July 23.

Related on World Hum:
* Seven Wonders of the Shrinking Planet
* New Seven Wonders of the World Named

Photo of Starbucks in Forbidden City by d’n'c’ via Flickr, (Creative Commons).

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