The route begins at km 0 at Hữu Nghị Quan Border Gate near the China-Vietnam border,[1] runs the length of the country connecting major cities including Hanoi, Da Nang and Ho Chi Minh City, and ends at km 2301.34[citation needed] at Năm Căn township in Cà Mau province.

It has been upgraded recently by Japanese ODA as well as loans from World Bank.

Extensive upgrade work was done on the QL-1, and QL-19 by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers[2] during the 2nd Indo China War.

In 1966 the 19th Engineer Battalion began to "upgrade highway QL-1 from virtually a dirt trail, to a class 31 all-weather road,[3] from Qui Nhơn north to Bong Son."

The central section of the highway, from Hữu Nghị Border Gate to Cà Mau, is planned to be duplicated by the North–South Expressway.