The towering sandstone pillars in central China that climb into the misty sky are renowned for their beauty, inspiring the alternate universe in the 2009 blockbuster “Avatar.”

中国中部高耸入云的砂岩峰林以其壮丽景致而闻名，2009年的大片《阿凡达》中的另一个宇宙就曾受其启发。

But in recent weeks, the national park of Zhangjiajie, the location of those stunning formations topped with pine trees, has become known for a sight far less appealing: mountains of trash.

但近几周，这处松树冠顶的绝美地貌所在地张家界国家公园却爆出一个远非迷人的景象：堆积如山的垃圾。

The government in Cili County in Hunan Province, which oversees the park, ordered a huge cleanup effort this month after videos posted by cave explorers of the garbage buildup spread widely.

在洞穴探险者发布的垃圾堆积视频在网上广泛传播后，负责管理该公园的湖南省慈利县政府本月下令开展大规模清理工作。

As of Wednesday, 51 metric tons of trash have been removed from two caves, according to the local authorities.

据当地政府称，截至周三，已从两个溶洞中清理出了51吨垃圾。

Villagers started dumping trash and pig manure in the caves in 2010, the official Xinhua news agency reported, after the county authorities banned the burning of waste. It took several years before the county’s trash collection services were able to deal with the amount of waste being disposed of, including from the county’s large pig-farming industry.

据官方媒体新华社报道，自2010年慈利县禁止焚烧垃圾后，村民们便开始在溶洞里倾倒垃圾和猪粪。几年后，该县的垃圾收集服务才有能力处理大量垃圾，包括来自该县大型生猪养殖业产生的垃圾。

A cave explorer and environmental activist who had posted some of the most widely shared videos said in a message that he was shocked when he saw the piles of manure and trash, which he said was seven or eight stories high. The limestone in the karst caves was stained so black that he initially mistook the waste for coal, he added. He spoke on the condition of being identified only by his online pseudonym, Xiaofugege, because of the sensitivity of environmental issues in China.

一名洞穴探险者和环保人士在社交媒体上发布了多条被广为转发的视频，他在受访时表示，当看到堆积如山，足有七八层楼高的粪便和垃圾时，他大感震惊。他还说，溶洞里的石灰岩被染成了黑色，以至于他最初误以为是煤。考虑到中国环境问题的敏感性，他要求只使用网名“小符哥哥”。

Local authorities said that of the 200 caves they had inspected, about two-thirds were contaminated, though drinking water in the region was found to be safe. The authorities have also suspended four officials and were investigating 12 livestock farms over the unlawful discharge of wastewater.

当地政府表示，在他们核查的200个溶洞中，约有三分之二受到污染，但确认该地区的饮用水水源安全。有关部门还对四名责任人停职检查，并正在调查12家非法排放废水的养殖场。

The authorities have also posted videos of the cleanup, with cranes hoisting trash from the depths of the caves. But these efforts were halted after toxic and flammable gases were detected in the caves, China Newsweek, a state outlet, reported.

有关部门还发布了清理工作的视频，视频中，起重机从溶洞深处吊起垃圾。但据官方媒体《中国新闻周刊》报道，在洞穴中发现有毒和可燃气体后，这些工作被叫停。

China has struggled with industrial pollution elsewhere. In 2011, a chemical company dumped 5,000 metric tons of chromium into reservoirs in Yunnan, in China’s southwest, killing fish and livestock, and poisoning the drinking water of thousands of people.

中国其他地方的工业污染问题同样严重。2011年，一家化工企业向西南省份云南的水库倾倒了5000吨铬渣，导致鱼类和牲畜死亡，成千上万人的饮用水遭受污染。

And for the past several years, the authorities in Bijie city in the southwestern province of Guizhou found that sewage water had contaminated the waterways, and that at least 12 of the surrounding karst caves were also clogged, in some cases with sewage water, others with manure, and still others with construction or household waste.

在过去的几年里，西南省份贵州的毕节市有关部门发现，污水污染了水道，周围至少有12个溶洞也遭堵塞，有些是被污水，有些是被粪便，还有些则充斥着建筑或生活垃圾。