In 1876, part of the Indian city of Jaipur was painted a dusty pink to welcome Queen Victoria’s husband, Prince Albert.

Since then, it has been known as the “Pink City” and hosts some of the most gorgeous architecture wonders found in the country, reports CNN, with “elaborate structures designed hundreds of years ago that still captivate visitors today”:

Largely built in the 1700s under the order of Rajput ruler Sawai Raja Jai Singh II, Jaipur is surrounded by a city wall and several defensive forts. Conceived as a commercial center [sic] in the state of Rajasthan, it was considered ahead of its time due to the use of grid iron city planning.

It was this beauty that brought Hong Kong-based photographers Victor Cheng and Samantha Wong to Rajasthan’s capital:

Trading in glass skyscrapers for century-old royal palaces and historic forts, the pair — who have 130,000 Instagram followers between them — said that the images they captured in Jaipur received an unprecedented response online.

“The response [to our photographs of Jaipur] has been amazing, almost ridiculous,” Cheng said. “A lot of our followers hadn’t seen this side of India, so we’re happy we were able to show this side of the country.”

And, thankfully, there’s no shortage of pink:

“The first gates you see when you enter are pink,” said Wong. “Once you’re through, everything around you varies in different shades of the color — from bright pinks to reddish browns.”

It’s all very Wes Anderson-like, right? Talk about real life Wes Anderson moments.

But it’s one pink palace that has proved especially popular: the historic Hawa Mahal. Take a look yourself:

The building is an extension of the City Palace, and its windows allowed royal women to observe street life without appearing in public. One of Cheng’s most striking photos shows a straight facade of the building and its hundreds of windows.

“It wasn’t easy to capture. There was a coffee shop across the street with a rooftop, and we had to wait for over an hour for the crowds to disappear in order to get that perfect shot,” said Cheng.

If pink isn’t your thing, there’s more.

The buildings were created in a Rajasthani architectural style, which blends the complex construction of Hindu Rajput building techniques with the striking symmetry of Mughal design.

A selection of images, below:

Pretty fantastic.

[source:cnn]