Dongzhimen was located on the northern section of the Inner city eastern wall. It was built on the location of the Chongrenmen gate of the Yuan era, the central gate of the eastern city wall of Dadu. In 1419 the name was changed, quoting "东方盛德属木、为春" and "直东方也，春也". Dongzhimen's gate tower was five rooms long (31.5 metres), three rooms wide (15.3 metres), and two floors high (34 metres). It was built in the multi-eaved Xieshanding style, with grey tiles with green glazed edges. The watchtower was similar to the one at Zhengyangmen, but on a slightly smaller scale. The barbican was built during the final years of the Yuan dynasty (ended 1368). It was nearly square, and was the smallest barbican of any of the nine Inner city gates. The northern and southern walls were 68 metres long, and the eastern and western walls were 62 metres long. Archways and sluice gates were present on the eastern and western sides. A Guandi Temple was located on the northeast corner, facing southward. The temple had no proper statue of Guandi; a minor deity made of wood was located there instead. This gave rise to the old Beijing saying: "Nine gates, ten temples, one without morality". The sluice gate towers and the barbican were dismantled in 1915 when the circum-city railway was built. The watchtower was dismantled in 1930 and its platform in 1958. The gate tower was dismantled in 1965.

Outside Dongzhimen was a pagoda made completely from iron, with a stone statue of Yaowangye. Many carts carrying raw wood entered the city through Dongzhimen.