SHENZHEN, China, Dec 20 (Reuters) - Heads turn when An Hui and Ye Jianbin walk down a street in the Chinese city of Shenzhen with their triplets, who were conceived with help from a human egg donor and a surrogate mother.

People are mostly curious about their unconventional family, said An, adding that it was not always the case in China where gay couples have long battled conservative Confucian values.

"I'm lucky because I was born in China during a period of rapid change. Today's society is far more tolerant," the investment manager told Reuters at his office in Shenzhen's financial district.

"If I had been born during the Cultural Revolution, I would be dead," said An, 33, who met his partner Ye in 2008.

17 PHOTOS LGBT parents challenge stereotypes in China See Gallery LGBT parents challenge stereotypes in China A girl looks at An Hui (L) and his partner Ye Jianbin walking with their sons, An Zhizhong, An Zhiya and An Zhifei at a residential community in Shenzhen, Guangdong province, China September 17, 2018. The triplets were conceived with the help of a German egg donor. (REUTERS/Jason Lee) An Hui's and Ye Jianbin's sons An Zhifei, An Zhizhong and An Zhiya, play next to their grandmother at home in Shenzhen, Guangdong province, China September 18, 2018. The triplets were conceived with the help of a German egg donor. (REUTERS/Jason Lee) An Zhifei, one of An Hui's and Ye Jianbin's three sons, hugs his teacher as he and his brothers arrive at a kindergarten in Shenzhen, Guangdong province, China September 18, 2018. The triplets were conceived with the help of a German egg donor. (REUTERS/Jason Lee) An Hui plays with An Zhizhong and An Zhifei, two of his three sons, at home after work, in Shenzhen, Guangdong province, China September 18, 2018. An and his partner are fathers of triplets who were conceived with the help of a German egg donor. (REUTERS/Jason Lee) An Zhizhong and An Zhifei, two of An Hui's and Ye Jianbin's three sons, play around a sofa at home in Shenzhen, Guangdong province, China September 18, 2018. An and Ye are fathers of triplets who were conceived with the help of a German egg donor. (REUTERS/Jason Lee) Ye Jianbin (L) helps his partner An Hui as they prepare to pose for a portrait at their office in Shenzhen, Guangdong province, China September 18, 2018. An and Ye are fathers of triplets who were conceived with the help of a German egg donor. (REUTERS/Jason Lee) An Zhizhong, An Zhifei and An Zhiya play with a cleaning robot at their father An Hui's office in Shenzhen, Guangdong province, China September 17, 2018. The triplets were conceived with the help of a German egg donor. (REUTERS/Jason Lee) A real estate salesman wipes the sweat off of An Zhifei, one of An Hui's and Ye Jianbin's three sons, during a visit to a villa on sale in Xishuangbanna, Yunnan province, China December 6, 2018. An and his partner are fathers of triplets who were conceived with the help of a German egg donor. (REUTERS/Jason Lee) An Hui listens to An Zhiya, one of his three sons, at his office in Shenzhen, Guangdong province, China, September 17, 2018. An and his partner are fathers of triplets who were conceived with the help of a German egg donor. (REUTERS/Jason Lee) An Zhiya, one of An Hui's and Ye Jianbin's three sons, weighs fruits he carries, next to his grandmother at home in Shenzhen, Guangdong province, China September 17, 2018. An and Ye are fathers of triplets who were conceived with the help of a German egg donor. (REUTERS/Jason Lee) A waiter helps An Hui (C) and his partner Ye Jianbin as one of their sons An Zhiya gets a nosebleed after a lunch at a restaurant in Shenzhen, Guangdong province, China, September 17, 2018. An and Ye are fathers of triplets who were conceived with the help of a German egg donor. (REUTERS/Jason Lee) An Hui (R) and his partner Ye Jianbin leave kindergarten with their sons An Zhifei, An Zhiya and An Zhizhong in Xishuangbanna, Yunnan province, China December 6, 2018. The triplets were conceived with the help of a German egg donor. (REUTERS/Jason Lee) An Hui rests next to his sons (L-R) An Zhizhong, An Zhiya and An Zhifei on a sofa in Xishuangbanna, Yunnan province, China December 5, 2018. An and his partner are fathers of triplets who were conceived with the help of a German egg donor. (REUTERS/Jason Lee) An Zhizhong (R) and An Zhiya, two of An Hui's and Ye Jianbin's three sons, sleep at home in Shenzhen, Guangdong province, China September 17, 2018. The triplets were conceived with the help of a German egg donor. (REUTERS/Jason Lee) An Hui's and Ye Jianbin's sons, An Zhizhong, An Zhifei and An Zhiya, walk to kindergarten in Shenzhen, Guangdong province, China September 18, 2018. An and Ye are fathers of triplets who were conceived with the help of a German egg donor. (REUTERS/Jason Lee) An Zhifei, one of An Hui's and Ye Jianbin's three sons, stands next to his and his brothers' shoes at home in Xishuangbanna, Yunnan province, China December 5, 2018. An and Ye are fathers of triplets who were conceived with the help of a German egg donor. (REUTERS/Jason Lee) An Hui's partner Ye Jianbin helps their triplets (L-R) An Zhiya, An Zhizhong and An Zhifei eat breakfast at home in Shenzhen, Guangdong province, China September 18, 2018. The triplets were conceived with the help of a German egg donor. (REUTERS/Jason Lee) Up Next See Gallery Discover More Like This HIDE CAPTION SHOW CAPTION of SEE ALL BACK TO SLIDE

The two men wanted a family and began exploring the option of in vitro fertilization (IVF), with help from a human egg donor and a surrogate mother.

In 2014, a Thai woman gave birth in Hong Kong to three boys – An Zhizhong, An Zhiya and An Zhifei - who were conceived using human eggs provided by a German fashion model, according to An.

He declined to identify the women or the surrogacy company that organized the procedures.

The issue of lesbian and gay couples having access to medically-assisted reproductive treatments such as IVF has stirred political debate in several countries, including more recently in France and Israel.

China's government has not stated a clear position on the country's LGBT community, Yanzi Peng, Director of LGBT Rights Advocacy China, a group based in Guangzhou.

"The best word to describe the attitude of the Chinese government is 'ignore'," said Peng.

"It's hard to gauge their exact attitude. They don't outright object to the LGBT community because that would really go against international attitudes on this issue," Peng added.

Other advocates for the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community say China should relax laws that limit childbearing to heterosexual couples.

"Homosexual couples have no way to legally use reproductive technology. Many people must go abroad to pay an extremely high fee to have children," said Bin Xu, director of Beijing-based rights group LGBTI+.

After decades of Communist prudery about sex of all kinds, LGBT Chinese have in recent years been openly tackling bureaucracy, legal uncertainty and entrenched social norms to assert their place in society.

While large Chinese cities have thriving gay scenes and same sex relations are not illegal, the government has shown no interest in legalizing same sex marriage, and launches periodic crackdowns on gay content online or elsewhere.

An Hui, who is a member of the ruling Communist Party, said its time to rethink traditional views of family and marriage as China grapples with an aging population and declining birth rate.

China moved in 2016 to allow couples to have a second child, relaxing curbs dating back nearly four decades. State media said this year the government was considering scrapping all limits on the number of children a family can have.

"In China, lots of people say a family is a bond between a man and a woman, but that's not necessarily the case," An said.

"If a single man has children, a single woman has children, two men have children or two women have children, then for these people they have a family," he said. "A family needs love for it to be a family. It has nothing to do with sexuality."

(Reporting by Sue-Lin Wong and Jason Lee; Additional reporting by the Shenzhen newsroom; editing by Darren Schuettler)

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