Sixteen Prefectures
The other major exception was a region known as the Sixteen Prefectures. By this time in history, the Khitan had formed the Liao dynasty out of their steppe base. They had also become a major power broker in North China. They forced the Later Jin to cede the strategic Sixteen Prefectures to the Liao. Consisting of a region about 70 to 100 miles wide and including modern-day Beijing and points westward, it was considered a highly strategic region, and gave the Liao even more influence in North China.