1,4-phenanthrenequinone, cypripedin, isolated from Dendrobium moniliforme, exhibits diverse biological activities. In a previous study, a very low yield of cypripedin, approximately 0.00036%, was obtained from Dendrobium densiflorum, which was insufficient for further investigation. Similarly, in depth biological studies of cypripedin have been hindered by insufficient supply, similar to the case with other natural products. The effective synthesis of this compound will thus enable its improved pharmacological investigation. In this study, we successfully photocyclized stilbene to obtain the corresponding phenanthrene. This concise synthesis of cypripedin could provide sufficient material for performing biological studies.