Individuals from the mainland found a Han-Dynasty wuju coin on Pratas Island prior to 1949, and a mainland Chinese archaeological expedition unearthed artifacts dating to the Six Dynasties on the Paracel Islands in 1974.
大陸曾於 1974 年在西沙考古出土六朝文物，而我國屬地「東沙島」所處的東沙，也在 1949 年共產黨建政之前，有大陸民眾於該處拾獲漢代的五銖錢。