On the southern bank of the Yamuna River, Northern India, the Taj Mahal is distinguished as the finest example of Mughal     1     (architect), a mixture of Indian, Persian, and Islamic styles. The Taj, one of the great     2     (milestone) in the history in India, was chosen as a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1983.

It was built by the emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his favorite wife, Mumtaz Mahal. Building     3     (incredible) lasted from about 1632 to 1643. More than 20,000 workers were employed from India, Persia, the Ottoman Empire, and Europe. The five principal elements of the     4     (splendour) buildings — main gateway, garden, mosque, jawab, and mausoleum — were designed according to Mughal building practice,     5     allowed no addition or alteration.

Shah Jahan had originally intended to build another mausoleum across the river     6     (house) his own remains, the two structures to be connected by a bridge,     7     he was removed from power by his son Aurangzeb, and imprisoned for the rest of his life in Agra Fort on the right bank of the Yamuna River.

In the last few decades, the Taj Mahal     8     (preserve) well. Two major restorations were carried out in the 20th century under the direction of the     9     (special), Lord Curzon.

The fact     10     the Taj Mahal is the most significant Indo-Islamic architectural achievement has come into the view of the world.

China is a country with a vast territory. In the great historical continuum (连续体) , it has developed     1     large variety of traditional housing with distinctly     2    (region) features.

In 2005, Mao Ge,     3     specialized in architecture, started research into traditional houses. When admiring many such houses, she     4     (strike) with their respective features. Each of them is the outcome of builders selfless     5     (devote). Through that experience, she also witnessed Chinese peoples deep attachment to their own way of life.

Since the 1980s, with the quickening of urbanization, many traditional houses     6    (disappear). Meanwhile, there is the collective neglect of traditional architectural techniques,     7     (instrument) and knowledge.

Born in the 1980s and having long been used to     8     (read) cartoon books while growing up, Mao Ge, who loves traditional architecture ever so much, hit upon the idea of introducing it       9     a wider readership through cartoons. That, she hopes, will encourage people       10     (find) beauty of folk houses and start protecting them, thus arousing attention from still more people, especially the young.

Through simple, interesting cartoons with equally understandable wording to match, she has created her type of cartoons for the young.

The Old Tea Forests in Pu’er,Yunnan Province, gained the World Heritage Site status at the ongoing 45th session of the World Heritage Committee of UNESCO,    1    (become)China’s first World Heritage Site related to tea.

The newly named heritage site    2    (consist) of five well-preserved old tea forests,    3    stand 1,250 to 1,500 meters above the sea level; three protective barrier forests; and nine ancient villages.

The cultural landscape was    4    (joint) created by the ancestors of the Blang people and the native Dai people.

The local people created ideal light conditions for tea trees, thereby producing quality organic tea leaves    5    the use of pesticides and chemical fertilizers.

The cultural landscape represents the ecological ethics and    6    (wise)that can inspire sustainable development in the world today, said Chen Yaohua, director of Peking University’s World Heritage Research Center, who     7    (lead) studies on the site for the past 12 years. Li Qun, another director of the National Cultural Heritage Administration, commented that China would    8    (strength)efforts to better protect the heritage site so that climate   change would    9    (solve) to ensure that the lasting,   outstanding and universal values of the old tea forests were passed from generation to generation. “It    10    (be) international exchanges and cooperation that help themselves to take more responsibilities in protecting the site,” Li also said.