The Chinese government’s strict “zero-COVID” policy has resulted in a significant secondary disaster. Many quarantine centers, known as “mobile cabin hospitals,” have been abandoned across China, as seen in satellite images and reported by international media. Despite costing tens of billions of dollars to build, these facilities have no medical treatment capability and were solely for quarantine purposes. In Shandong Province alone, the government invested 23 billion yuan (approximately $3.35 billion) to construct 119 quarantine centers with 200,000 beds. However, many of these centers were demolished just two months after their completion when the government abruptly abandoned the zero-COVID policy in December 2022. The total cost of COVID-19 control in 22 provinces was 421.9 billion yuan (approximately $61.4 billion), including building quarantine centers, testing, and paying pandemic control personnel. Many abandoned large quarantine centers remain empty, and it may be challenging to make them economically viable if converted to other uses.