1 . The Taj Mahal(泰姬陵)is a love story, a sad and beautiful one. If it didn’t exist, we would easily imagine that the story of its construction was simply a fairy tale. Three hundred years ago, there lived an Indian emperor called Shah Jahan. His wife was a beautiful and bright woman whom he loved greatly. Her title was Mumtazl

Mahal: its shortened form Taj Mahal, means “pride of the palace”. In the year 1630 this beloved wife of the emperor died. He was so brokenhearted that he thought of giving up his throne(王位). He decided out of his love for his wife, to build her the most beautiful tomb that he had ever seen.

He summoned the best artists and architects from India, Turkey, Persia and Arabia and finally, the design was completed. It took more than twenty thousand men working over a period of 18 years to build the Taj Mahal, one of the most beautiful buildings in the world.

The building itself stands on a marble platform 29 meters square and 6—7 meters high. Towers rise from each of the four comers. The Taj Mahal itself soars another 61 meters into the air. It is an eight-sided building made of white marble.

The emperor planned to build an identical(相同的)tomb of black marble for himself on the other side of the river connected by a silver bridge. However, his son put him into a prison in the palace before he could finish, and for the rest of his life, he could only gaze across river at the tomb of his beloved wife.

4 . I’ve spent over a year in India,and in those 365 plus days,I’ve learned a lot about getting around Indian cities.My biggest lessons have been learned through being cheated,particularly by taxi and rickshaw(人力车) drivers,but that doesn’t mean those are bad ways to travel,as long as you know what you’re doing.Below are the best ways to get around the city of Delhi,India,and tips for how to keep from being the victim of scams(欺诈).

Taking taxis is a great way to get around the city of Delhi and chances are,if you arrive in Delhi by plane,as soon as you make it through customs,you’ll be swarmed by Indian taxi drivers.At the Delhi airport,be sure to arrange for a taxi to your hotel at one of the two Delhi Traffic Police Taxi Booths.One is inside the airport,and the other is outside.The key is to make sure to go to a booth run by the police,rather than by independent taxi drivers.

Rickshaws are one of my favourite ways to get around Indian cities,in part because it’s how the locals often travel.Auto-rickshaws are more common,but bicycle rickshaws are still used in Old Delhi.If you do have a chance to take a bicycle rickshaw,you should do it at least once for a unique experience that should only set you back about 15 rupees.Auto-rickshaw rates around Delhi range between 30 and 80 rupees,depending on the distance.

If you really want to travel around Delhi like the locals,take a public bus.Indian buses become very crowded and most do not have air conditioning.They are,however,very cheap.A bus trip won’t set you back any more than 15 rupees,as long as you stay within the city limits.Since Indian buses get so crowded,try to board the bus at the start of the route so you can get a seat.

The train is a great way to get around within the city of Delhi.Fares are reasonable,between 6 and 22 rupees.All departure announcements are in both Hindi and English,and tokens can be purchased for between 6 and 22 rupees.