National Highway 1 is the main north-south road of Vietnam, running the length of the country from the Chinese border to the Mekong Delta. Starting at the border gate at Huu Nghi, it runs through the northern provinces (Lang Son, Cao Bang, Lao Cai), to Hanoi and Vinh, then through central Vietnam including Hue and Danang, to Saigon (now Ho Chi Minh City), and south to Go Dau Ha in the Mekong Delta.
During the Vietnam War, one of its chokepoints was the Dragon's Jaw Bridge, in the narrowest part of North Vietnam, in Thanh Hoa Province.
It connects to National Highway 10, which is the motorway to the port of Haiphong; Hanoi and Haiphong also are connected by railroad, which continues into China.
Highway 1 crosses National Highway 9, the east-west road that roughly paralleled the Demilitarized Zone of the divided Vietnams, at Dong Ha. Highway 1 connects to National Highway 14 at Bien Hoa.