When ordinary citizens in China have grievances, they can use a variety of state-authorized institutions or informal connections to participate in government such as contacting officials directly, filing complaints, or writing letters to news bureaus. While many of these participation channels are widely utilized, there is limited research on whether or on how citizens’ institutional trust is influenced by their experience of participation. This study combines Asian Barometer third wave data and long interviews to analyze the relationship between China’s non-electoral participation through various channels and political trust, and examine possible intermediate variables affecting the correlation of the two concepts.