BEIJING -- A record high of 7.97 million people traveled across the Taiwan Strait in 2012, a Chinese mainland spokesman said on Wednesday.

Mainland tourists to Taiwan topped 1.97 million last year, up 57.5 percent year on year, said Yang Yi, spokesman for the State Council Taiwan Affairs Office, at a regular press conference.

Yang expressed his hope that in the new year both sides will grasp opportunities to forge ahead and achieve progress in politics, the economy and culture, and break new ground in cross-Strait relations.