West Lake in Hangzhou is renowned for its scenery and historical sites, and has undergone numerous changes over the centuries, with unprecedented large-scale renovation projects during the early years of the People’s Republic of China. These projects, including dredging the lake, afforestation, creating the Flower Harbor Park, pig farming, and tomb removal, aimed to transform West Lake into “the People’s Lake.” This ambitious socialist endeavor reflects the interaction and entanglement between human planning and nature’s responses. The author emphasizes that beyond humans, elements like water, silt, microbes, parks, trees, pests, pigs, and graves also play crucial roles. The book adopts a “non-human studies” approach to analyze how the unique “agency” of these non-human entities participates in, influences, or obstructs the transformation of West Lake, revealing the complexity of history shaped by both human and natural forces.