 The Liao dynasty was further divided into five " circuits " , each with a capital city . The general idea for this system was taken from the Balhae , although no captured Balhae cities were made into circuit capitals . The five capital cities were Shangjing ( 上京 ) , meaning Supreme Capital , which is located in modern @-@ day Inner Mongolia ; Nanjing ( 南京 ) , meaning Southern Capital , which is located near modern @-@ day Beijing ; Dongjing ( 东京 ) , meaning Eastern Capital , which is located near modern @-@ day Liaoning ; Zhongjing ( 中京 ) , meaning Central Capital , which is located in modern @-@ day Hebei province near the Laoha river ; and Xijing ( 西京 ) , meaning Western Capital , which is located near modern @-@ day Datong . Each circuit was headed by a powerful viceroy who had the autonomy to tailor policies to meet the needs of the population within his circuit . Circuits were further subdivided into administrations called fu ( 府 ) , which were metropolitan areas surrounding capital cities , and outside of metropolitan areas were divided into prefectures called zhou ( 州 ) , which themselves were divided into counties called xian ( 县 ) . 
