Creator's Description: This article looks at local ritual, and other, transformations in the shifting meanings of a well-known Sino-Tibetan historical figure known as Hwa shang in the context of the multi-ethnic borderland of present-day A mdo. Hwa shang is usually represented in Tibetan masked dances as well as in Tibetan art as the representative par excellence of Chinese Buddhism. The different (hi)stories of Hwa shang, their multiple meanings in various contexts and for specific groups of people referred to in this article, will show how decisive local and historical contextualization is for an understanding of seemingly uniform symbols, and for one that is more closely grounded in the specific realities and interpretations of ever changing socio-political worlds.