According to an old reporter along on the trip, Tungsha was once a desolate place, with little more than squat metal shacks, coal oil lamps, dirt roads, and muddy wells.
根據一位同行的老記者描述，早期的東沙，確是一片荒蕪，低矮的鐵皮房舍、簡易的陣地、昏暗的煤油燈、舉步維艱的沙質道路，和幾口鹹澀且汙濁的地下水井。