Chaoyangmen was located at the midpoint of the Inner city eastern wall. Built at the site of the Dadu gate called Qihuamen, it was informally known by that name by the commoners. The gate tower and watchtower were similar to those at Chongwenmen. The gate tower was 31.35 metres wide, 19.2 metres deep, and 32 metres high. The barbican was 68 metres wide and 62 metres deep, with a sluice gate and archway on the northern side. Its Guandi temple was located on the northeastern corner, facing south. The watchtower was destroyed by Japanese forces in 1900 and was rebuilt in 1903. The barbican was dismantled in 1915 when the circum-city railway was built. The gate tower and its platform were dismantled in 1953, and the watchtower in 1958.

Chaoyangmen was Beijing's "Food Gate", through which many carts carrying staple foods entered the city. The gate was closest to the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal, and wheat and rice from the south China plains such arrived via that route. Much of the food was stored in warehouses just inside Chaoyangmen. Thus it has the symbol of a wheat grain engraved on the archway of the barbican gate. Chaoyangmen has the informal name of "Dumen", meaning 杜门 "resting station".