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Celebrations have begun to mark the 350th anniversary of the world's most famous monument to love, India's Taj Mahal.

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The Uttar Pradesh chief minister (L) and the governor (R) lit the inauguration lamp of the Taj International Tourism year.

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Government officials released balloons to kick off the events.

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Children joined the celebrations in their own way - vying to take away as many balloons as possible.

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The opening festivities included a kite-flying contest and the release of white pigeons.

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The mausoleum was built by the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan as a tomb for his wife, Mumtaz Mahal.

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Actors played the parts of the emperor and his beloved wife, who died in childbirth.

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Taj Mahal is India's favourite tourist destination - visited by some two million Indians and 800,000 foreigners last year.

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The 17th-Century building, now a world heritage site, took some 20,000 people decades to build.