AbstractRecently we conducted a mini-survey towards a sample of six massive clouds with surface density >10²⁴ cm⁻² in the central molecular zone (CMZ) of the Milky Way, with the SMA at 280 GHz in the compact array and at 230 GHz in the compact/subcompact arrays. The data reveal compact dust continuum peaks, some of which are also associated with organic molecular lines and thermal SiO emission. The subcompact array data helps recover more structures, e.g. the regularly spaced, well-aligned continuum fragments in the 20 km s⁻¹ cloud. Shock tracers such as SiO are found in all the clouds. Our observations suggest potential protostellar origin for some of the dust continuum peaks in these regions.