Investment injection warms icy ambitions

China's winter sports push received a massive boost on Friday with the launch of a new investment fund.

With the cost of equipment and venues posing a significant financial challenge, money is needed to make winter sports more accessible at the grassroots level as the country rolls out an ambitious plan to have 300 million people participating in ice and snow activities come the 2022 Beijing Olympics.

That's where the Ice and Snow Sports Development Fund, which was launched by the National Winter Sports Administrative Center on Friday, comes in.