They were used only in the fringes of the empire, which were either inhabited primarily by non-Han Chinese peoples or too geographically isolated from the rest of the Han centers of power.

The Yuan dynasty also had lu (sometimes translated as "route"), but it was simply the Chinese word used for the Mongolian administrative unit, the cölge.

In 1932, administrative circuits (Chinese: 行政督察區; pinyin: xíngzhèng dūchá qū) were reintroduced and lasted until 1949.

During the Asuka period (538–710), Japan was organized into five provinces and seven circuits, known as the Gokishichidō (5 ki 7 dō), as part of a legal and governmental system borrowed from the Chinese.

[3] Though these units did not survive as administrative structures beyond the Muromachi period (1336–1573), they did remain important geographical entities until the 19th century.